Ice Chamber
by pencil gal
Summary: AU. In a future that perhaps awaits us all, Serena is an extremely powerful yet insane young woman. Darien is a man trying to uncover what the government wants kept hidden. And he just paid his way onto her ship. SD.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: _Sailor Moon_ belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. _Serenity_ belongs to Joss Whedon. These characters are not mine and never shall be.

**Ice Chamber**

**Chapter 1**

'**tuxedo mask'**

In the year 2125 AD the planet Earth became overrun. The people of Earth had finally taken over every last space and had exhausted all of the planet's resources. A new planet needed to be found if the human race was to survive. Previous experiments had shown that nothing could make the other eight planets in the Earth's solar system habitable. Something had to be done.

And so ships were sent out on exploration missions. A new solar system was discovered and after using air purifiers it was proven that both the planets and the moons were able to support life. New settlements were established and the first of Earth's people, or Terrans as they are now known, migrated to this system.

Over the next five hundred years these civilizations grew and expanded. Eventually three alliance systems were formed: the Triple Alliance, the Silver Alliance and the Crystal Alliance. In the early years after these three Alliances were created there were many devastating wars. Slowly the three governments came to an agreement and now all three hold equal power in the solar system. But the Triple Alliance was not satisfied. It wished to have complete power throughout the system and so began to establish plans that would lead them to that goal.

However, one young man by the name of Darien Shields knew something was wrong with his government and was doing everything in his power to put a stop to it…

Darien glanced around the corner of the building. After making sure there were currently no police officers in sight he casually strolled out of the alley onto the docks. His eyes constantly flitted around taking in everything through the dark sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose. Looking at the long line of ships there didn't appear to be any that would soon be flying. Most of people close to the ships were unloading cargo rather than loading. It wasn't looking good for getting away any time soon. 'I knew I shouldn't have broken that mirror last night,' Darien thought.

_In the dark of the night he slipped from building to building. He was about to sprint from his hiding place across the open ground to his destination when he heard footsteps in the gravel coming closer. "How's Estelle been lately?" a voice asked._

"_She's been okay," a second voice replied. "I haven't been though. Those damn pregnant woman mood swings are killers."_

_He remained crouched until he could hear nothing more except the breeze flowing around him. He peered around the building to be certain there were no more guards lingering around. From what he knew there shouldn't be anymore walking by for fifteen minutes. Plenty of time for him to get over to Building C and up to the right window. Using his "enhanced abilities" as Grandpa liked to call them he was able to move silently across the gravel footpath to Building C. Bending his knees slightly he jumped and grabbed onto the ledge three stories up. He pulled himself up and, kneeling precariously on the tiny ledge, he examined the window. 'Locked,' he thought. 'Of course.'_

Darien sped up a bit when he spotted a girl struggling to carry two large boxes. He shrugged to himself and thought, 'Well, being the chivalrous gentleman for a few minutes couldn't hurt.' He matched his walking pace to hers as he reached her. Darien cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me miss, would you like some help?"

As the girl tried to turn to him the top box began to wobble dangerously. Darien grabbed it before it fell and lifted it into his arms. She sighed in relief and smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks for that," she said, blowing her blue hair out of her eyes. "It would've been a lot more trouble than it's worth if that box had fallen and smashed open." She shifted the box in her arms before continuing, "I hate to ask but would mind carrying it to my ship for me? It would be a huge help if you could."

"No problem at all. So how far down is this ship of yours?"

She bit her lip and glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "The very end of the dock."

Darien chuckled. "Just my luck. Really though don't worry about it. I don't mind carrying the box that far for you." Walking side by side they continued moving down the dock. Up ahead Darien suddenly spotted a cop heading their way. He hefted the box up, placed it on hi shoulder and turned his head so that he was looking straight at he blue-haired girl rather than the direction in which he was walking.

_Removing one of his black leather gloves he held his index finger close to the glass. A tiny golden flame appeared at the tip of his finger. It was a useful trick that Rei had taught him. The flame was tiny enough that it wouldn't attract attention to the light but with enough concentration would burn hot enough to melt anything. He finished moving his finger around the edges of glass and grabbed the pane before it could fall and break. He placed it on the floor inside the room and gracefully slipped through the window after it._

_Putting his glove back on he moved behind the desk and turned the computer on. As it booted up he walked around the large room hoping there might be something useful on the bookshelves but found nothing. 'Please let there be something on the hard drive,' he thought as he sat down in front of the computer screen. As he was about to start searching through the files the door opened and a man walked in carrying files._

"_Mr Wilson, I noticed you were in your office though I can't understand why you're still here this late at night." The man looked up and stared at him. "You're not Mr Wilson." The man's eyes widened. He grabbed his walkie-talkie from his belt and shouted into it, "Intruder! There's an intruder in Building C!"_

"_Kuso," he hissed. He picked up the nearest object, a hand mirror that was sitting on the desk, and threw it at the man. He heard it shatter against a wall as he jumped through the window onto the ledge and began to run along it._

"So may I inquire what your name is miss?" Darien asked as they passed by the policeman. He glanced back quickly to ensure that the cop wasn't looking in his direction or had recognised him at all.

"Oh I'm sorry! I didn't introduce myself. My name's Ami. Ami Mizuno."

"And I'm Darien. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Mizuno."

"Please there's no need for such formalities. It's just Ami."

"Alright then. Ami it is." Darien looked over at the girl, no young woman really his mind registered, beside him as she smiled to herself. "I've got one question Ami. You wouldn't happen to need a medic or handyman or anything on this ship of yours would you?"

"Sorry but no." Ami smiled at him apologetically. "It's only a small ship and pretty much full as is. Oh look we're getting pretty close now."

Darien stopped walking and turned to face Ami. "Look Ami I'm going to tell you something. I need to get off this planet immediately. Sooner than immediately. I needed to be gone about three hours ago. I'm willingly to do just about anything. I'll even pay you for taking me onboard."

"How much?" Darien turned when he heard the new voice entering into their conversation and found a boy with sandy brown hair staring hard at him.

"Shingo you're back. Good thing too. Mina told me that Kunzite wants to leave pretty much as soon as we get back," Ami said grinning. "Did you get the meds?"

The boy nodded. "The liquids too. It's all in the box." He turned to Darien and asked again, "How much you willing to pay to get on?"

The group had continued walking as they spoke and reached the ship as Darien answered, "1000 parlos."

"Well here we are," Ami announced. "Thanks so much for the help Darien."

Darien set down his box and stared at the ship they were standing beside. Ami obviously hadn't been kidding when she said it was small. The ship was tiny and appeared to be fairly rundown with rusty metal and peeling paint. "You actually call this thing a ship?" he asked pretty much by what he saw before him.

"You got a problem with it buddy?" A woman with long blonde hair walked up to him and scowled at him. "Who are you anyway?"

"Mina this is Darien," Ami answered. "He helped me carry the supplies here. Darien this is Mina Aino. She's pretty much viewed as being second-in-command around here."

"You got a last name Darien?" asked Mina.

"It's Hino," Darien automatically replied out of habit. No point giving away to strangers what his real name was.

"Right."

"I was hoping I could hop on your ship as a passenger."

Mina watched him with undisguised scepticism. "Where are you going?"

"Canberranoire."

If Darien hadn't been watching Mina just as closely as she was watching him, he would have missed the fleeting expression that passed over Mina's face. It almost seemed like it was… fear? Before he had time to think further about it, it was gone and Mina had stated, "Sorry this ship doesn't go to Canberranoire. You'll have to find another one to hop onboard."

"Hey I'm happy to go as close as you are willing to take me."

"He said that he'd pay us 1000 parlos," Shingo piped up.

"Really now? You're gonna shell out that much money so that you don't even get to where you need to be? You must be pretty desperate to get off this little planet. Care to explain why?"

"_Hand mirrors," he muttered in disgust. "Bloody rich people with their bloody vanity." He reached the corner of the building and looked down. The whole compound was now flooded with light and security was running everywhere though most of it was headed towards the building he was crouched on. "Well this is certainly not of the good." He glanced around searching for some sort of escape route._

_Between Buildings E and G he spotted an unattended jeep. 'That could work.' Now he just needed to find a way there without being spotted by the authorities. "There he is!" someone shouted. He looked straight down once more and found that a large group of uniforms were looking straight back at him._

"_Well there goes that idea. Plan B it is then." Standing up he leaped straight off the ledge. The group below him immediately dispersed. He landed on the ground crouched down. He briefly glanced at the people watching him. "Thanks for the help in moving but I've got to go now mates." With that he made a mad dash to the jeep and jumped in. He pushed the acceleration pedal down and began speeding through the narrow compound streets. Guards began shooting but he ignored the bullets flying through the air all aimed at him. As the gates loomed up ahead of him, he pushed the jeep to go faster and drove straight through the locked gates. "Sorry boys," he said as he left the compound, "but I've got a flight to catch."_

Darien simply stared at her without answering. Mina raised an eyebrow at him before saying, "Fine. You can get on."

He grinned and once more picked up his crate. "Thank you. I am in your debt. This is a true act of good will on your part Miss Aino."

"Don't push your luck Funny Boy," she replied as she narrowed her eyes at him.

Ami and Darien carried their crates into the ship and set them down in the holding area. "Well Darien," said Ami, "welcome aboard the Ice Chamber. Come on I'll show you around."

As they walked up the stairs Darien asked, "Is there a particular reason why it's called 'Ice Chamber'?"

"You know I'm not sure. You'd have to ask the captain Kunzite. Truthfully I never asked about it."

Entering the central hallway Darien immediately noticed that the walls were covered with writing and drawings. While they walked he was able to read what a few of the sentences said. 'Could it be a faded rose from day's gone by? Everyone in Brownsville thinks she's crazy? What the hell is this supposed to mean?' "Uh Ami why are the walls covered in writing?"

"You'll see soon enough."

'Gee that wasn't a vague answer at all.' When they rounded a corner Darien spotted a short, blonde girl further along the walkway standing close to the wall with a pen in her hand. Darien was slightly awed by her hair. It was almost down to her ankles. He had never seen hair that long before. Previously the only other girl he had known with long hair was Rei. The girl had already turned to face them as if she knew they would be there.

Ami stopped him and whispered, "That girl is Serena. I should warn you now that she never speaks. The only people that she will talk to are her younger brother Shingo and her cousin Mina." As they approached her Darien could see bright blue eyes peering at him from beneath a fringe.

Ami halted before Serena and smiled. "Hello Serena. I've got someone for you to meet. This is Darien Hino. He's going to be staying on the ship for a few days. Darien this is Serena Tsukino."

Serena had frowned slightly at him when she heard Darien's name as if it had confused her somehow. She opened her mouth and clearly stated, "No. You are Tuxedo Mask." Serena then turned and began writing on the wall once more.

A/N: Well a new story. Hope you all enjoyed this first chapter. Any and all similarities to the movie _Serenity_ (or the TV series _Firefly_ I suppose, though I haven't seen _Firefly_) are attributed to the fact that I saw it on Thursday night and let's just say I was inspired. Please leave a review as I'd love to know what people thinks of this.

- Samantha


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**'writing on the walls'**

"There's no way. It can't be possible."

After seeing Serena speak to someone outside of her family Ami had been stunned. She had hurried Darien to his cabin promising to finish the tour later. Ami knew that she had to find Mina or Shingo or even better both of them and inform them of what had happened. This led to Ami rounding everyone up and initiating an impromptu crew meeting in the cockpit immediately after take off.

"Are you sure you weren't just imagining things Ami?" the pilot Neph asked.

"Oh ha ha, very funny Neph," she replied. "I know exactly what I saw. Or rather heard. Serena said very distinctly to Darien that he was something or someone called 'Tuxedo Mask'."

"Do you think this means that she's finally going to begin speaking to people again?" Shingo asked hopefully. "I mean other than to me and Mina."

"Unfortunately I don't think so," Mina answered from her position sitting on Kunzite's lap. "I mean Serena didn't speak to Ami did she?" Ami shook her head to confirm the statement. Mina continued, "I don't trust this Hino guy. We all know about Serena's abilities. What if she saw something about Hino that was so big that she was required to speak despite her self-imposed muteness?"

Kunzite turned his silver eyes to Ami. "Where is he now?" he inquired.

"I left him in his cabin right before we left Questacon. Then I came to find you guys. I assume he's still there."

* * *

Darien was strolling slowly through the corridors of the ship. After Ami had disappeared so suddenly he had figured that he might as well do a little exploring by himself. He'd been absolutely stunned by the amount of writing all over the walls. Every last centimetre was filled with the sometimes miniscule, sometimes quite large text. Darien had even glanced up at one stage only to discover that it too had been written on. He had to wonder how the tiny slip of a girl he'd met earlier had managed to position herself so that she could write the whole way across the roof.

After a few minutes of walking Darien stopped next to a section of wall and began to read. Some of the sentences made sense by themselves but then there were others that were completely random and seemed to come from nowhere. _I've seen better days. Never was a cornflake girl. And she's looking for a mysterious dark-haired man. Can you hear the drums Fernando?_

Darien released a short, small sigh as he spotted the next sentence. _I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all._ 'Don't we all sometimes? Don't we all?' He turned and again began moving through the corridors. Occasionally a phrase or two would grab his attention as his feet led him through the unfamiliar walkways.

_It's written on the wind._

Knowing the territory you are in was one of the first things that Darien had learnt when he left home. He had discovered the hard way what happened when you didn't have knowledge or a floor plan of the building or grounds you were in. Whether you were on the turf of friends or enemies it was best to know your way around so that you could quickly get to the nearest escape route. After all in this day and age it was only a matter of time before your supposed friends turned on you. Darien knew that there were only two people that he could truly trust with anything and everything: Rei Hino and her grandfather. And maybe Andrew.

_I believe you can get me through the night._

Darien halted his steps as he turned a corner. The neat cursive on the walls had abruptly stopped and directly in front of him was the blonde girl Serena, the apparently selective "mute" who had spoken to him earlier. Of course, what she had said had been confusing. Darien wondered what it was that went on in that head of hers to make her frown at him than give him a weird name like 'Tuxedo Mask'. Serena ignored him as Darien stood there watching her move her pen across the metal. Now that he had a better chance to simply observe her Darien realized that she was older than he'd thought. In the approximately two minutes he had previously seen her Darien had assumed that Serena was about fourteen due to her extremely short height. But now he estimated that she was maybe seventeen or eighteen.

He committed everything he could to memory. Serena wore her hair in two buns with long golden streamers falling from them. Her skin was porcelain white and Darien assumed that she didn't often step off the ship into sunlight. She was almost painfully skinny but still somehow managed to have curves which were covered by a flowing light blue dress that matched her eyes. Glancing at her raised hand Darien thought that he might be able to snap her wrist just by touching it, it was so thin.

Looking at this strange young woman Darien was curious as to what purpose she had on the ship. Okay, so both her cousin and brother worked on the Ice Chamber but surely she had parents or some sort of family that she could instead be with. There had to be some sort of reason why she wasn't living in a comfortable house in one of the cities of the Alliance. Darien didn't understand why the captain allowed Serena to stay on the ship when it was obvious, at least from what he had so far observed, that the only things Serena did were stare at walls and write and so contributed nothing to the working and maintaining of the ship.

So far Serena had not even acknowledged his presence and Darien was determined to change that. He walked a few steps closer so that he was standing directly beside Serena. "What are you writing about?" Darien asked. When Serena didn't reply Darien tried again. "Do you mind if I take a peek and read it?" Still there was no response. Darien was beginning to feel frustrated. "Why did you call me Tuxedo Mask?" Serena continued to act as if there was no there.

After a few more futile attempts Darien decided to play dirty and try to annoy her into talking to him. "You know what your hair reminds me of?" he asked cheerfully. "Odangos. They were this old Terran food from centuries ago. I once saw a visual of them in a history book and those ball things on your head look just like them. Actually that would be a good name for you wouldn't it? Odango Atama." Darien narrowed his eyes at her when she still paid him no attention or replied to his comments. 'Right then,' he thought. 'Six year old tactics it is.' Reaching out he grabbed one of Serena's pigtails and tugged on it lightly. When that didn't work he pulled on it again slightly harder this time. Again Serena ignored both him and the jerk of her head to the side. With a sigh Darien released her hair. "Fine I give up." He patted her on the back as he said, "I'll talk to you later Serena."

Serena turned her head and watched him as Darien walked away and disappeared around another corner. Her hand continued to write out the pictures in her head even though her glazed over eyes were no longer staring at the wall. _Tuxedo Mask turned and disappeared into the night clutching the Rainbow Crystal tightly in his hand._

* * *

Neph turned in his seat when he heard someone enter his domain, the cockpit. "G'day," he greeted. "You must be the new passenger."

Darien nodded in greeting and sat down in the empty chair at the controls console. "Darien Hino at your service."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Neph, pilot extraordinaire of this here junk bucket."

Darien raised an eyebrow at the name Neph offered but chose not to ask any questions. He could understand the need to conceal one's identity at times and if Neph didn't want to be forthcoming about who he was that was fine especially since Darien wasn't currently using his real name either. "Pilot extraordinaire, eh? How long have you been flying for?"

"First began learning when I was eighteen so that would be seven years. But enough about me. I already know about myself. Tell me about yourself. Where're you from?"

"Alintarouge."

"Got any family?"

"Just my younger cousin and her grandfather." No need to go giving strangers his life story.

Neph glanced at Darien out of the corner of his eye after hearing the brevity of his answers. "You don't much like talking about yourself do you?"

"Do you?" Darien retorted.

Before Neph had a chance to either answer or come up with a quick quip another man entered the cockpit. Pretty sure that he had met everyone else onboard Darien pegged this new player as being the captain Kunzite. Kunzite's gaze landed on Darien and his always suspicious eyes took in everything about the man, from his messy black hair to his relaxed position in the console chair, that had paid 1000 parlos to get on the Ice Chamber. "You must be the man Hino that Ami and Mina have been telling me about," Kunzite stated with little emotion.

"And you're the captain of this fine looking ship," Darien replied just as emotionlessly. "Mind if I ask you a question? Why did you call it 'Ice Chamber'?"

"Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been on a ship that has no heating during the middle of the night in the middle of winter?"

"No." Darien thought he might be able to see where this was going.

"Well there's your answer. That happened to me right after I bought the ship. I'm surprised I didn't freeze to death in the month before I was able to get a heating device to properly function. I decided to affectionately name my ship Ice Chamber in memory of that month."

"Great story." Darien didn't actually think so though. He'd been hoping for something a bit more interesting or quirky.

Kunzite gave Darien another once-over. He could feel cockiness and smarminess pouring out of the dark-haired man but couldn't tell if it was real or an act which was annoying him. Usually Kunzite could get the measure of any man or woman with just one glance. "Why were you so eager to get out of Questacon Hino?"

"I was originally there for a holiday. But after a few days of everything going wrong I just wanted out. I was pretty much willing to do anything to get out of that place I was so sick of it." 'Well at least the part about everything going wrong is the truth,' he thought.

"And why are you going to Canberranoire?"

"I've got business there. How close can you get me?"

"The closest we ever go to the capital is Alintarouge. You'll have to find another ship from there."

"Alintarouge? Really? That might be even better than going to the capital. So how long will it take to get there?"

"It all depends. A week. Maybe two."

"Lovely. It all seems to be in order so I think I might go back to my cabin and have a small nap. I'm feeling rather tired." Darien stood up and moved next to Kunzite at the door. "It was great meeting you Neph. We'll have to continue our conversation later, eh? Good to get acquainted with you too Kunz."

"It's Kunzite," he informed Darien coldly.

Darien smirked. "Of course it is."

When the door had closed behind him, Kunzite sat down in the seat Darien had vacated. He looked over at Neph and said, "I don't trust him."

Neph let out a small grin. "No, somehow I didn't think you would."

"I can't get a reading on him at all." Kunzite expelled a breath and rubbed his eyes. "I might not have magical powers like Mina or Serena but my instincts have never led me astray before and now they're not telling me anything about Hino whether it be good or bad. And I don't like that. I don't think it bodes well for anybody."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**'unsolved puzzle'**

Darien smirked slightly upon seeing Ami bustling around the small cooking area when he entered the kitchen/dining room later that day. He figured that since he already had the layout of the ship in his head he might as well begin investigating the mystery that seemed to be the Ice Chamber as a whole. All his life Darien had never before been able to leave an unsolved puzzle. And it looked like he'd just stumbled onto a great a puzzle. He would most certainly be having fun with this considering how some of the crew members had been regarding him since the moment he stepped onboard. "Hello Ami," Darien said jovially. "What are you up to there?"

"Eek!" Ami jumped when she heard the voice behind her. Luckily she hadn't picked up the pot of boiling water yet. "Don't sneak up on people like that," Ami admonished him, looking slightly distressed, when she realized who it was.

"Sorry." Darien sat down at the table and smiled charmingly. "So as I was saying what are you doing?"

"Oh I'm just starting to get lunch ready."

"Right of course. Do you mind if I sit here and chat with you while you do? I felt like a bit of conversation."

Ami smiled over her shoulder at him. "That's fine with me. What do you want to talk about?"

Darien smirked when Ami once more faced her cutting board. Despite the smirk spread across his face Darien said pleasantly and a little curiously, "How about you tell me how you ended up on this ship."

He saw Ami's back stiffen before she obviously forced herself to remain calm and relaxed. "Yeah okay. I'll warn you though my story isn't very interesting," Ami replied keeping her back turned to Darien. "Essentially I'm here because Serena and Shingo are."

Darien raised an eyebrow at that but didn't interrupt the blue-haired girl. "When we were younger I used to live with my mum next door to the Tsukinos. Serena was my best friend. Three years ago Kenji and Ikuko Tsukino were accused of Sedition. And of course when it comes to Sedition the police don't demand proof. Just an accusation then you can burn someone. After the execution Serena and Shingo completely disappeared. I had no idea where they had gone. About a year ago I heard from a friend that they were working on this ship and so I left home, found the ship, offered my services as a medic and voila! Here I am."

Ami plastered on a grin as she dropped the food into the water and turned around to face Darien. So she'd omitted a few things but she hadn't totally lied. After glancing quickly to make sure the soup wouldn't cook too quickly, Ami sat down across from Darien the bright grin still stretched across her face.

Darien watched the girl before him while thinking. One piece of information had captured his attention. "Their parents were burned for Sedition? Did Serena witness the execution?" he asked. 'Because if she did,' he continued privately, 'a traumatic event such as that could explain at least why she refuses to speak to anyone but family.'

Ami immediately became even more cautious. "Why do you want to know?"

"I was just thinking that if she had watched both her mother and her father being burned to death at the stake it might explain why she wouldn't want to speak to people. And I personally I wouldn't blame her for it either."

Ami nodded carefully, keeping in mind that the man before her was not to be trusted. "Yes both she and Shingo were there to see the execution."

At that moment the tea kettle, which Darien only just noticed was sitting next to the soup pot, boiled letting off a sharp whistle. Ami jumped up to turn it off and what only seemed to be five seconds later Serena skipped through the door grinning ecstatically. It was the first time all morning that Darien had seen her without a blank expression and he was awed by the change that had come over Serena. Her already bright blue eyes were even brighter and sparkling with mischief and her smile… her smile was amazing. He shook himself out of the slight reverie he realised he'd slipped into as Serena bounced over to the table and dropped into the chair beside him without even considering any of the other ones.

Serena had just grabbed a piece of paper and was drawing something when Mina strolled in. She narrowed her eyes upon seeing that Serena was seated next to Darien. She sat down across from Darien openly glaring at him. Not moving her gaze she growled, "Serena why don't you come sit next to me?"

Serena looked up at her cousin when she heard the command disguised as a question. She glanced at Darien out of the corner of her eye before shaking her head at Mina, indicating no, and returning to her drawing. Darien raised an eyebrow at this while Mina unattractively gaped at Serena. When she overcame her shock she glared at Darien once more, even more heatedly.

"You don't like me much do you?" Darien asked while smiling winningly.

Mina's scowl deepened from having him smile at her. "No," she answered shortly. "I don't."

Darien raised a mocking eyebrow before realising that Serena had finished her drawing and was simply sitting quietly and watching Mina. "Can I see what you drew Serena?" he asked. Both he and Mina were surprised when Serena turned her head. Her blue eyes looked at him speculatively before she nodded and pushed the small bit of paper over to him.

He looked down at the drawing and stared at in shock. He was looking at a girl but it was who the girl was that shocked him. Yes she had been drawn like an anime character and yes she was wearing some strange tight-bodiced, mini-skirted version of a Terran sailor suit, but she was also unmistakably Rei Hino. Darien glanced at the words written above the figure and read: _Raven hair, ruby lips, sparks fly from her fingertips._ He blinked and read it again. Sparks meant fire. He couldn't understand how Serena could have possibly ever known what Rei looked like or that she could conjure fire. And why did Serena agree to let him look at it? Did Serena somehow know that he knew Rei?

Darien dropped the drawing back on the table and met Serena's eyes. There was one thing repeating in his mind. Who the _hell_ was Serena Tsukino?

Someone cleared their throat and Darien dragged his eyes away from the mystery beside him. He discovered that while he had been staring at the drawing and then Serena, Kunzite and Shingo had arrived, Ami had finished cooking and now they were all watching him as Serena began to consume her food faster than he had ever seen anyone eat. Mina raised an eyebrow at Darien in mockery of the one he had previously raised at her. "Something wrong Hino?" she asked. "This drawing seems to have you spooked." Mina held up the sketch of Rei to further her point.

Darien hadn't completely recovered from his shock and so blurted out, "My cousin. She drew my cousin."

"Sailor Mars," a willowy voice whispered so softly Darien almost didn't hear it. He jerked his head around to look at Serena but for all appearances it seemed that she hadn't made a sound being too busy with her soup. A glance around the table confirmed the suspicion that he had been the only one to hear what Serena had whispered.

'Sailor Mars?' Darien thought confused. 'What is that supposed to mean? It makes about as much sense as the name Tuxedo Mask does.' Darien frowned and ate his soup as quickly as possible. The minute he finished he stood and placed his bowl in the sink as he said, "Thanks for that Ami. It was delicious."

"No problem at all Darien," Ami replied faintly.

Before leaving the room Darien walked back to the table and picked up the drawing. "Serena can I keep this?" he asked.

Serena glanced up from her second bowl of soup, first glancing at the paper in Darien's hand then at him. She smiled as she again nodded an affirmative. Darien sent back a small though genuine smile then left the room.

After the door slid shut behind him, he ducked into the corner next to the door in hopes of hearing anything they might have to say about him. "Serena why do you speak to and respond to Darien Hino?" asked Shingo.

"Because he's Tuxedo Mask," Serena replied, as if that should answer everything.

"Listen to me Serena," Mina began seriously. "I don't want you to have anything to do with Hino. He's dangerous, can you understand that? I'm telling you not to go near him okay?"

Darien cautiously peeked through the glass in the door to find that both blonde women were frowning at each other. "No it's not okay," Serena said, still frowning at her cousin. "You are neither my mother nor my father Mina Aino therefore giving you no right to tell me what I can and can't do. And also let's not forget the fact that I'm eighteen which makes me a legal adult. Even if my parents were still alive they also would not be able to tell me what to do since I am of legal age. So if I want to spend time with him I will. If I want to talk to him I will. And you my dear Mina can do nothing about it." With that Serena pushed herself away from the table and stormed through the door and down the hallway.

Darien considered going after her but decided it might be better to just let her calm down. Instead he remained in his hiding spot to listen to how the others reacted to Serena's outburst. The four people still seated at the table were all shocked. Though looking closer Darien thought that Shingo didn't seem to be completely stunned like the other three. Shingo just a looked a little surprised and… happy? Why would the boy be happy when his sister just got as angry as she did, Darien wondered.

"I… I haven't heard Serena speak that… decidedly and angrily and well… rationally in the past year at all," Mina stuttered.

"Well what did you really expect Mina?" Shingo asked. "Serena might be a little different-"

"Just a little?" Ami cut in sarcastically.

"Alright so she's a lot different from how she used to be," amended Shingo, "but even back then Serena hated to be told what to do. You know she only ever obeyed Mum's command to clean her because otherwise she'd be sleeping in a pigsty and because she knew Mum would ground her if she didn't."

"This is a bit bigger than just refusing to clean her bedroom Shingo," Mina replied.

Shingo rolled his eyes, angered by Mina's condescending tone. "Don't speak to me like I'm an idiot because I'm not one. I was simply saying that you tried to force Serena to something she didn't want to do. I thought you knew by now that being stubborn and headstrong runs in the Tsukino family since you've been one for twenty years. You really should've seen Serena's reaction coming from a mile away."

Darien felt a stirring of respect for Shingo seeing him stand up to his domineering cousin. He focused again as he heard Shingo continue. "Besides I can't say I'm sorry to see Serena exhibiting some of her old traits. I know you think he's dangerous Mina and I know you don't trust him, truthfully I don't completely trust the man either. But that doesn't change the fact that since he came onboard this morning Serena has been showing more of her old self. If Hino somehow prompts her to act like herself again then I have to say I'm somewhat grateful to him. Serena has been through enough in the last few years to last a lifetime. She deserves the chance to be a normal girl again."

Darien silently and quickly moved away down the hall when he realised that Shingo had stood up and was moving towards the door. The whole meal in general had been enlightening but at the same time had made the puzzle even more complex. It seemed like Serena was even more of a mystery than he had originally thought. As he was nearing his cabin, Darien stumbled upon Serena again writing on the wall. Realising that he had never actually thanked her for giving him the drawing of "Sailor Mars" he stepped behind her. "Thank you for the sketch," Darien said warmly.

He didn't receive a verbal reply and really he hadn't been expecting one. But before he left he glanced quickly over her head at what Serena was writing at that very moment. What he read left a small grin on his face as Darien finished walking to his cabin.

_You're welcome._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**'makoto'**

Lita Kino fell into a wall as a blast hit the side of the ship. She ran up the stairs and burst through the door into the cockpit. "ARTEMIS!" She shouted. "What the hell is happening to my ship?" Lita leaped into the empty console chair as she noticed a beam aiming straight for them.

Artemis flew straight up, just managing to not be hit. "We accidentally flew right into a band of pirates. We're almost completely surrounded."

"Bloody hell. Get us out of here Artemis right now!"

"It'll be a bit difficult Leets," replied Artemis as he dodged two shots at once. "We lost one of the engines in that last hit. We'll be lucky to get out of this and all the way to Liechdart."

"Kuso," Lita hissed. She turned to her viewscreen and pulled a map up on it. "Look we're pretty close to Station 3. We'll have to dock there. Hopefully it won't take too long to fix the engine and we'll still be able to offload the cargo at Liechdart on time."

"I see you're not questioning whether we're going to be able to escape the pirates who continue to slowly get closer."

Lita looked at Artemis and grinned as the ship suddenly shuddered and began flying almost vertically down. "Ah come on Artie. I've been watching you co-pilot this ship almost all my life. I don't need to question it. I know you can ditch these bumbling idiots."

As Artemis turned to return Lita's smile at the confidence she had in him there sounded a large boom, indicating that the hull had been hit. Lita frowned as she spotted one of the pirate ships through the glass. "Though I might have to find a replacement if you let this ship take any more hits," she joked as she took hold of a gearstick and flipped up a radar screen.

"You got one in range?"

"I've got two. Just make sure you keep flying straight for as long as you can okay?" Lita didn't wait for a reply instead focusing on the task at hand and the screen in front of her. 'Easy Kino,' she thought. 'Remember the lessons with Dad: keep your cool and shoot straight. One, two, now!' Two quick movements of her thumb resulted in two direct hits to two different ships.

"Your father taught you well," Artemis remarked, pride easily detectable in his voice.

"That he did." She smiled softly at the memory of her parents as the ship sped through a newly opened gap. She became serious once more when she noticed that the pirates were following. At this rate with five ships firing and only three engines working they'd never make it too Station 3, which was still an hour away, even with Artemis's expert flying skills. "Artie in exactly ten seconds I want you to begin a roll sideways and don't come out of it until you've completed two full revolutions."

Artemis glanced at Lita out of the corner of his eye and nodded. He hoped that Lita was about to pull off something spectacular because right now they both knew their chances weren't looking too good. As the ship began to tip and roll Lita began a sequence of rapid fire. Not once during the roll did she remove her thumb from the "pretty red button" as she had called it when she was a little girl. After Artemis had pulled the ship straight again and was accelerating Lita pulled up a visual on her viewscreen to see how much damage she'd caused. She grinned when she saw the results. "Well two of those parasites are completely out of commission."

"That evens the odds up a bit." Artemis opened a cover and hovered his fingers over a few switches. "So are you feeling trigger happy today Leets and want to play this out showdown style? Or would you rather turbo up and leave them coughing in our dust?"

"Please Artemis you should know me better than that by now." Lita smirked as she cracked her knuckles. "Showdown all the way."

Artemis glanced at the woman beside him out of the corner of his eye. He should have expected that answer. After all, in all of the sixteen years he had known Lita she had never backed down from a fight, not even when he first met her at the tender age of seven. "As you wish Captain." Artemis slowed down and turned the ship so that Lita could see all three pirate ships through the glass. Now that they were barely moving the pirates had spread out trying to find a way to trap them and put the ship out of working order.

As Lita began to shoot quick bursts of laser beams, Artemis did not need to be told where to go or what to do. He'd been through enough ship battles in years gone by with Marcus Kino by his side, and in the past three years it had been easy to adjust to Lita's fighting style which was so similar to her father's. Neither had to speak as Artemis dodged enemy fire and Lita fought back.

Caught directly between two pirate ships, Artemis directed the ship vertically upwards as each of the pirates fired a few beams each. Only one was able to avoid being hit and after all the hits previously taken the other ship was destroyed. 'Three down, two to go,' Lita thought grimly. After a couple of lucky hits the hull there remained only one pirate ship firing at them.

It was at that point, as the members of each ship sized the other up trying to find weaknesses, occasionally shooting off a couple of rounds, that Lita and Artemis heard a voice crackling over the radio waves. "This is Federal Shuttle 288. Cease fire and state your name and classification number. I repeat cease fire immediately."

"Damn it not the bleeding feds," Lita groaned. "The feds haven't shown up on radar yet though. Okay Artemis I think it's time for that turbo."

Artemis flicked three switches on the console as Lita fired off two more beams. Two seconds later they were speeding away from the battle arena. Four minutes later the pirate could no longer be seen at all. Lita stood up and patted Artemis on the shoulder. "Good job A-man. I'll go see how the rest of the crew fared during that little episode."

Lita jumped down the stairs out of the cockpit and began making her way towards the common. As she moved through the ship she lovingly ran her hand across the wall. She had spent her childhood running through the corridors of this ship, had grown up on it and now it was a part of her. Lita knew every bolt and every piece of wiring. She loved the ship more than she would probably ever love anything else. Artemis, Luna and Hotaru were her only family now that her parents were gone and the rest of her crew were more than just people she handed a pay check to. They were her friends.

Lita grinned as she stepped into the common where the rest of the crew had strapped themselves in. "So how are all you bludgers doing back here?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

Fourteen year old Hotaru undid her buckle and hugged Lita, smiling ecstatically. "That was so much fun!" she exclaimed. "Can we do it again?"

"Trust you to say that little sis," Lita replied, ruffling Hotaru's hair affectionately.

"So what was it that happened Lita?" Jed asked as he stretched out his arms.

"We accidentally flew into a group of pirates and they attacked us. We fought back then sped away before the feds had a chance to arrive."

"We fought back did we?" Luna raised an eyebrow. "Did you have the chance to escape earlier or did you just feeling like taking a few shots at the people who dared to attack your ship?"

Lita smirked and shrugged rather than answering. Luna sighed and smiled slightly at the brunette. "That's what I thought."

"How much damage did we take?" asked Chad.

Lita exhaled and flopped down into a chair. "One of the engines got knocked out. Other than that I'm not sure. I'm hoping the engine is the only major damage." She watched as Reika moved around the group making sure that no one had been injured by the twisting and rotating ship jerking them around in their seats.

Reika glanced at Lita after giving Greg the all-clear and was walking across to Chad. "Were you and Artemis alright up in the 'pit?"

"Yeah we were fine Reika. I've just got a bit of a headache from when I knocked my head against the wall during one of the blasts on my way to the 'pit. But I'm fine so don't worry about me."

"Right then, that's all sorted out." Luna moved towards the door and gestured for Hotaru to accompany her. "Come on Hotaru back to training."

"Mum do I have to?" Hotaru whined.

"Yes you do," Luna replied sternly.

Hotaru groaned and had moved to join her mother at the door when Lita broke in, "Oh wait Luna. We're heading for Station 3 so that we can repair the engine and Artemis is going at turbo speed. You probably won't be able to get Hotaru properly into the training routines before we dock."

"How far are we from the Station at this speed?"

"Fifteen or twenty minutes."

"That's still enough for a light meditation. So move it Hotaru, you're not getting out of it." Hotaru groaned once more as she stomped out of the common. Her mutterings and grumblings could still be heard as she walked away. Lita chuckled when she heard Luna calling out, "And watch your language! If I hear that again you'll be on dishes duty for a month."

Fifteen minutes later, Lita was back up in the cockpit with Artemis waiting for the chance to dock. "Cargo ship Makoto this is Ground Control. Your clearance has been approved and docking space 3C12 is ready for your descent."

"Thank you Ground Control," Lita replied. "Descent beginning now." She flipped off the communicator as Artemis eased the ship down into the designated area. He turned off the engines and relaxed back into his seat.

"Another perfect landing by yours truly," he remarked tiredly.

"Yeah, yeah great job," Lita, replied, fatigue just as obvious in her voice. "Meet you down in the cargo hold." She began muttering as she made her way towards the holding area. "I don't even want to think about how much damage the ship probably has right now."

When she reached the cargo storage area she found the crew, minus Artemis, waiting for her. Lita crossed the floor to a panel in the back wall and typed in a code. "You lot ready to get off?" she asked as the door opened and a ramp appeared.

Chad rubbed his hands together as he stepped into the artificial light of Station 3. "Right let's see what's going on with this engine."

As a group they all stood and stared at the condition the ship was in. Apart from the smoke pouring out of one of the engines, metal had obviously been lost from the outside. There were huge tears in the metal and large dents caused by the laser beams. Hotaru was the first to say anything. "Well, personally, I don't think the Makoto's ever looked better."

Lita frowned at her then glanced at Reika. Reika nodded in reply and slung an arm around Hotaru's shoulders. "How about you and me go pick up some supplies, eh Hotaru?" she suggested.

"Oh yeah let's go." Hotaru grinned. "Hey can we also do some window shopping? It's been ages since I've been here."

Lita couldn't help but smile at Hotaru's enthusiasm but transferred her attention back to the matter at hand when she noticed Artemis approaching her with a grim expression on his face. "Leets there's a problem with the fuel cells," he said before she had a chance to ask what was wrong.

"Come again?"

"The cells are just about bone dry. Before the fight they were more than half-full. I think one of the beams might've punctured a hole in the cells."

"Great. That's just what I needed to hear." She closed her eyes for a moment as she tried to ease both her frustration and the growing headache by massaging her temples. "Chad! How long do you think it will be before the engine is ready?"

Chad ran a hand through his hair as he took a moment away from examining the engine to answer. "It'll be a few hours at least."

"Do you want me and Jed to try and patch up the tears while Chad and Greg are working on the engine?" asked Luna.

"No don't worry about it. I want to be off the satellite as soon as possible. The shipment for Cosatel doesn't have to be delivered for seven days yet so we'll be able to spend a couple of days at Liechdart fixing the ship. Artemis reckons there's a hole in the fuel cells so Jed you're with me and Artie to check that out." Jed nodded and he and Artemis ducked under the ship. "Luna I want you to do what you can to help Greg and Chad with the engine."

Luna smiled and went to join the two men. Lita patted the side of her ship and said, "Don't worry old girl we'll have you in top shape again in no time." Then she followed Artemis and Jed and disappeared under the Makoto.

* * *

A/N: Yes I realize that very little happened. But it was a necessary chapter to introduce the other characters and the crew of the Makoto.

While I'm here I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed so far. This story is my baby at the moment and it means a lot to me that other people are enjoying it. So: thank you. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**'family'**

_He was standing in a meeting room. All round him politicians and military officers were laughing and sipping champagne. As he watched they all transformed into pigs though still in their fine coats and dresses with the ever refilling wine glasses in their hoofs/hands. The pig at the head of the table raised his glass and proposed a toast. "To us and to victory!" _

He was now surrounded by darkness and there was no sound. One by one the politicians and officers, now returned to their human forms, rose up and towered over him. Where they had previously been laughing jovially they were now smirking and sneering, the shadows turning their faces into grotesque masks. A girl's voice could be heard screaming from pain. "No! Please no! Don't make me do it!" The voice shrieked. The figures disappeared. He was alone in the void. There was nothing left.

Darien woke up and stared at the ceiling above him. He breathed deeply, trying to slow his heartbeat as he untangled the sheets from around his sweat-drenched body. Sitting on the edge of his bed Darien clutched his head, his eyes shut trying to hold on to every detail of the dream. But as dreams do it slowly disintegrated as if it were sand slipping through his fingers until the only thing left was a voice screaming, "No! Please no! Don't make me do it!"

_That dream again. Why am I having it now? And why here?_

-

Darien walked along the corridor carrying a box for Ami, lost in his thoughts. Though he couldn't remember all the details, he knew that the dream he'd had earlier that morning had been exactly the same as the dream from five years ago. Darien could still remember clearly the morning he had left home not long after turning seventeen. He had woken up in his bedroom at the shrine, the dream constantly running on a loop in his head. It had been so vivid and realistic that Darien had almost felt he had received a vision. He had spoken about it with Grandpa Hino straight away, who had agreed that it was some form of vision. They had discussed it further and Grandpa had tried a short fire reading, though the only thing that he had been able to divine was that Darien would leave on a long and difficult journey. He had left that morning right after Rei had left the shrine for school, not knowing how long it might be before he saw his home of eight years once more.

Remembering that vision and morning from years before brought Darien's thoughts back to his dream. He was trying to figure out why he would receive the vision again after so long. There didn't seem to be a reason as to why he saw the vision again at this exact point in time. Granted he had never been able to find a reason as to why he had seen the vision the first time and why he had been the one sent on this... _mission_ was the only way Darien could describe it.

"Pennilen for your thoughts?" Ami asked, startling Darien and dragging him back to reality.

Darien glanced at Ami walking beside him. "Just thinking about my cousin. I haven't seen her in a while," he replied, "so I was just wondering how she was. I know she's a tough girl but I was just feeling a little concerned about her since I haven't spoken to her for a month. But it's nothing important really."

Ami bit her lip and paused in her struggles to open the cardboard box she was carrying, unsure whether she should be nice to this man or not. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, the box somewhat forgotten as they continued walking through the ship. His concern for his cousin certainly seemed to be genuine. Ami closed her eyes briefly and counted to ten. Mina was not going to be happy with her for this. "You know," she began slowly catching Darien's attention; "if you really are worried about your cousin you could use the viewscreen in the commons to try and contact her."

"Seriously?" Darien knew that just about everyone on this ship was wary of him. He was surprised that Ami didn't think he was lying or assumed that he would try to pass a coded message to evil, evil criminals. "That would be great. Thanks so much."

Ami gave him a small smile. Sure she might not be able to completely trust him but even so she couldn't help but like the tall man walking next to her. There was some sort of charm about him that made a person instantly like him. Except of course for the few that that same charm had an adverse affect on which made them instantly dislike Darien. "It's no problem at all really." They turned a corner and just a few steps in front of them Serena stood drawing on the wall.

Ami stopped suddenly, having just remembered that she had been trying to open the box in her arms. Darien turned his head to see why the blue-haired girl had ceased walking and saw that she was struggling to get the tape off to pull the lid open. He pulled out his pocketknife and was flipping it open to give to Ami when an ear-piercing shriek stopped him immediately. "No!" Darien's head whipped around to stare at Serena. She had dropped her pen on the floor and was now pulling on both of her long pigtails never moving her eyes from the drawing she had just finished. "No!" Serena continued screaming, repeating the one word over and over again. "_No! NO!_"

Darien must have made a slight movement because Serena's eyes flicked to the hand that was holding the pocketknife. She crossed the distant between them in three steps, snatched the knife from his hand and then was back at the wall dragging the knife through the drawing before either Darien or Ami had a chance to react. When Serena took the knife away from the metal and began sawing at her hair Ami dropped her box and leapt forward into action. "Serena don't!" She yelled as one of the pigtails dropped to the floor. Ami grabbed on to Serena's hand as she began to raise it to the other pigtail. There were tears running down Serena's face as she struggled against the taller girl, still attempting to chop off the rest of her hair. Ami was having trouble trying to get Serena to drop the knife. The small blonde was obviously far stronger than her size suggested. Darien was still staring at the two, completely frozen in his place. He was rather at a loss as to what to do. Sure he could break into a top secret government base without batting an eyelid but he had no idea what to do when an insane girl was trying to cut off her hair.

A few moments later and the knife clattered to the floor. Serena followed it, dropping to her hands and knees, sobbing so much she could barely breathe. Ami knelt next to her and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's shoulders. She whispered comforting words to Serena as she helped her stand and begin moving slowly past Darien. Right before they turned the corner, Ami looked back and said, "Darien could you finish taking that stuff to the commons for me? Thanks. Oh and go ahead and use the viewscreen while you're in there." Without waiting for a reply she turned back around and continued leading Serena around the corner.

Darien looked around the corridor at the knife gleaming innocently in the artificial light, the box still on its side where Ami had dropped it and the length of blonde hair which had scattered everywhere. If he hadn't seen it for himself and if the result wasn't in front of him, Darien wouldn't have believed that the last five minutes had happened. He shook his head slightly, picked up his pocket knife and slipped it away. He stacked Ami's box on top of his own and began to walk once more towards the commons but paused as he reached the spot where Serena had been drawing on the wall. Darien turned his head to see what had set Serena off (for he assumed that it was the drawing which had upset her - though he wondered why she would even draw something in the first place if it would only upset her). Drawn in black pen were three people - a small family. The mother had long hair done in two buns and ponytails, the father was tall with dark hair and the little girl standing between her parents had shorter hair though done in the same style as the older woman. Serena had dug the knife in the metal and carved a large cross through the family.

-

When Darien had reached the commons he decided that he would be the gentleman and put away the things in the boxes for Ami. Of course, it had been the perfect chance to snoop around and he hadn't been about to give it up. After putting the food away and looking around he had turned towards the viewscreen with a repressed sigh. Darien had found very little out of the ordinary. Though the amount of medicine that he had found in one of the drawers was rather interesting. Aside from the usual painkillers and first aid supplies there had been boxes and boxes of sleeping pills as well as bottles of liquid tranquilizers packed next to a pile of syringes and needles. As interesting as the find had been he didn't much like to think of the implications of those tranquilizers for he could only think of one possible reason for their being in the ship. Aside from the one bout of insanity or recklessness or whatever it was that Darien had just witnessed, Serena had appeared so sweet and innocent and fragile. Far too innocent and fragile to be forced into submission as the pills and needles suggested.

He suppressed another sigh as he touched a few buttons on the screen getting ready to call Rei. After all, it wasn't his problem regardless of how disturbing he found it that Serena's own family and friends would attempt to control her in such a way. Darien typed in a combination and hoped that Rei would actually pick up her mobilescreen for once instead of ignoring it like she usually did. He growled lowly when the call rung out without Rei answering it. It was a few minutes of continuous ringing before Rei finally decided to answer her calls. "About time Raelene," Darien said frowning. "What took you so damn long?"

"Well gee Mamoru, I'm sorry," Rei replied sarcastically. "But answer me this - how is my not answering my mobile any different to you not answering yours? I've been trying to call you for more than a day now." The dark-haired young woman crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at her cousin.

"The stupid thing broke on my holiday in Questacon. Which is only one of the many things that went wrong in that bloody city."

"You're okay right?" Rei's brow creased in concern. "You didn't get mugged did you?"

"Came close. But I got out of there before the idiots could take anything from me."

She nodded and dismissed the matter. Darien wasn't injured and he wasn't in gaol. That was all that mattered. Rei glanced around the room that Darien was standing in. "Where are you anyway?" she asked.

"I managed to get a ride on a cargo ship yesterday morning. They agreed to drop me at home while they're traveling their route."

"At home? But I thought we were meeting up at the capital?"

"Change of plans. Besides it'll be good to see Grandpa again don't you think? Anyway do you think you can get in contact with Toki before he leaves?"

"Yeah sure thing. But Mamoru-"

"Protector." The word had floated through the air from behind him. Serena stood there with Shingo at the doorway. Now that Darien had moved both Serena and Shingo could see the face of the girl on the viewscreen. "Sailor Mars," Serena whispered.

Rei tilted her head as she looked at the newcomers. 'What was the girl on about?' she thought.

Darien whipped back around. "I have to go Raelene. Take care of yourself okay? I'll talk to you soon."

"Don't I always? See you when you get home Mamoru."

Darien waved slightly as Rei ended the call. "Why did that girl call you Mamoru?" Shingo asked suspiciously.

Darien turned to answer the younger boy's question but blinked in surprise as he found Serena standing unnervingly close to him. Her now shoulder-length hair swayed though there was no air to move it. He looked past Serena to where Shingo was still standing by the door and replied, "Childhood nickname. That was my cousin."

"And why were you using the viewscreen without permission?"

"Ami said that it would be-" Darien broke off immediately when he felt two small fingers stroking down his cheek. Shingo stared at his older sister, too stunned to do anything. Darien's head immediately jerked downwards and he was suddenly staring into Serena's blue eyes once more.

"False face must hide," Serena's voice was eerily soft. Her fingers moved to his chest and rested above Darien's quickly beating heart, "what the false heart doth know."_(1)_

-----

(1) _Macbeth,_ William Shakespeare, Act I Scene VII


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

'**november first'**

"She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes," Hotaru sang, looking up into the blue Plumerian sky, "she'll be coming round the mountain when she comes. She'll be coming round the mountain, she'll be coming round the mountain, she'll be coming round the mountain when she comes."

Jed grinned and joined in with the younger girl's song as she began the second verse. "She'll be riding six white brumbies when she comes."

Hotaru turned and returned his grin when she saw Jed standing directly behind her. He bowed slightly, offering her his hand. "May I have this dance miss?"

Laughing Hotaru jumped up and grabbed his hand. The two began a sort of country jig as they continued singing at the top of their lungs. Lita chuckled as she stepped out of the ship and moved around the side to help Luna with the laundry. "Where's Reika?" she asked.

"She walked into town with Chad to pick up a few things," Luna replied, pegging a shirt onto the makeshift clothesline.

"They've been gone for a while now actually," Artemis commented from where he was sitting at the table fiddling with a circuit board. "Perhaps they're getting up to something naughty?" He wiggled his eyebrows at his wife.

Luna huffed. "Get your mind out of the gutter _dear_. I don't know _what_ it is that is taking them so long, but it is certainly _not_ whatever you were thinking. Reika has a fiancée who she is utterly in love with _remember_?"

"Don't worry, love, I remember." Artemis chuckled and winked at Lita. It was still fun after all these years to get Luna riled up. He looked at Greg across the table, who had a viewscreen and his persocomp set up. "What's taking so long Greg?"

"Aye, that is a valid question." Luna stopped speaking for a moment and allowed Lita to remove the pegs from her mouth so that she would be able to be understood properly. "Today is the one day that all of Mau stops to watch the Melbourne Pod Race and now Artemis and I are probably going to miss it if you don't hurry up."

"Patience is a virtue," Greg replied, not wanting to be rushed in his task. He continued to type in combinations on his persocomp while watching the viewscreen, hoping that he would finally pick up on the broadcast signal. As the picture on the screen began to turn fuzzy Greg smiled. "Almost got it." A few moments and a few keys later and Greg let out a whoop of triumph. Artemis and Luna moved behind him and grinned when they saw the clear picture of the race day fashions on the viewscreen.

As Artemis reached forward to pick up the screen and move it to a better viewing position, Greg let out a scream and pitched forward onto the table clutching his head. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to control the agonising pain caused by the vision that washed over him.

_Two men in black suits. Dark sunglasses hiding their eyes. Reika dropping her bags and running. Chad turning to try to fight the men off. One of them chasing Reika. A dark crystal. Pain. Screaming._

Greg collapsed against the table, panting for breath as the vision faded away, leaving nothing but an acidic taste in his mouth and fear gripping his heart. Plus the pounding headache. "Greg are you okay?" Lita exclaimed as she gently lifted his torso off the table and pushed his sweat-drenched hair away from his eyes. "What just happened?"

"Reika," gasped Greg. "She's in danger. You have to find her."

"But how do you know that she's in trouble?" Luna asked. "What was _that_ that just happened to you?"

"I'll explain later. But you need to find Reika right _now_. Before they take her away or even more likely, simply kill her."

"Who are 'they'?" Artemis was extremely confused. One minute Greg was fixing the viewscreen, the next he was screaming and then the next after that he was saying that Reika might be killed. What in the 'verse was going on?

"The men in suits," replied Greg, still holding his head as he waited for the pain to completely subside. "Reika and Chad are currently on their way back from town out in the open with no one around. They're completely defenceless. Now go! _Hurry!"_

_

* * *

__"False face must hide what the false heart doth know." Darien stood completely still. Her hand was still on his chest and she was pressing ever closer but he still couldn't manage to rip his eyes away from where they were staring into hers. _

"Serena," Shingo said sharply trying to gain the strange girl's attention. Instead of listening to her brother Serena took another step closer and began to lean up onto her toes bringing her face closer to his. "Serena!" Shingo stepped forward frowning and pulled her away to a safer distance. "Serena you're scaring him," he said softening his tone.

A confused expression crossed her face. "No I'm not," Serena replied. "He's Tuxedo Mask. It's not possible to scare him."

Shingo shook his head slightly, giving up. There was no point trying to reason with her. He gave a small tug on the arm he was still holding. "Come on sis. Mina wanted to talk to you."

Darien pushed the memory of the morning from his mind as he looked away from the brother and sister team, only to find Mina and Kunzite standing side by side watching him with narrowed eyes. He was down in the cargo hold with the crew of the Ice Chamber (minus Neph) waiting for the ship to finish its descent to the docks of Station 5. Darien felt a small jolt shoot through his legs as the ship settled into the readied docking space. "That's it guys," Neph's voice came through the speaker system, "we're down. Let's get off this heap of scrap metal."

Kunzite snorted lightly at the insult to his ship. With his hand hovering over the pad ready to open the door and lower the ramp, he turned to Serena, Ami and Shingo. "Right then. You three stick together and don't wander too far," Kunzite instructed. "At best you should stay on this level and don't even think about going upwards or down. Mina, Neph and I will go see what jobs we can pick up. We'll all meet back here in exactly two hours."

"What about me?" Darien piped up, keeping his expression innocently blank.

Kunzite made no attempts to disguise the sneer that stretched across his face. "I don't give a damn what you do with yourself as long as you're back here by the appointed time. And if you're not," his mouth tilted into a smirk, "we won't wait." He pressed the panel and him and Mina made their way down the ramp to wait for Neph on the docks. Serena, Ami and Shingo quickly followed them then immediately continued walking forward and away from the docks.

Darien chuckled to himself as he stepped onto the ground. He winked at Mina as he passed her and smirked when he noticed Kunzite place a hand on her arm to restrain her from attacking and drawing attention to themselves. Darien caught up with Ami and the siblings just as they passed into the partially-lit and smoky world of Station 5.

* * *

"Come on Artie can't this bloody thing go any faster?" Lita yelled over the wind. They were speeding across the land in the hover trying to find Reika and Chad below them. 

"I'm going as fast as I can Lita!" Artemis shouted back. "Just stay calm would you?"

"How am I meant to stay calm when Chad and Reika are in danger?"

Luna placed a hand on Lita's shoulder and was about to say something to her when something she saw in her peripheral vision distracted her. She turned her head and looked across the barren ground. Her eyes moved quickly, scanning, skimming the horizon… and then there they were. And there were two men in black suits behind them. "There they are! Artemis, turn to the right. Quickly! There's people following them."

"Would you two stop telling me to speed it up?" Artemis grumbled under his breath as he manoeuvred the hover towards Chad and Reika.

Lita picked up a couple of guns and passed one to Luna before taking aim, ready to shoot at the slightest movement. As they watched Reika turned and noticed the men behind her. One pulled out some sort of dark crystal while the other held a small metal device. The man with the device moved his hand in a quick swiping motion and suddenly Chad was down on the ground with blood pooling around his legs. Lita flicked a switch and pulled the trigger, sending a volley of bullets towards the man. She was sure at least one bullet definitely hit him but it didn't seem to have any effect. He was still standing upright and with another swish of his hand had made another cut on Chad, this time across his back, using the light from his device.

Everyone's attention was drawn to Reika as an agonising scream rent through the air. The black crystal was hovering in the air between Reika and the man. Unbearable pain had brought her to her knees. A red patch was slowly spreading across the back of her shirt, right above where her heart was. Reika's screams became louder and louder as the crystal began to pulse faster and faster.

Bullets from Luna and Lita rained down on the suited men but still there was no reaction from either. They simply continued to torture Reika and Chad. The hover landed and all three jumped to the ground. Having passed her gun to Artemis, Luna unsheathed her sword from her back and charged towards Chad. As she drew near, the man swung his light-slicer-thingy (Luna wasn't quite sure what she should call it as she had never seen anything like it before) towards her. Out of instinct Luna raised her sword to block the attack and was surprised when it worked. It was as if the thin beam of light was an actual sword. With a few swift movements she was able to distract him and draw him further away from Chad.

Artemis dashed in while the man was busy defending himself. Kneeling down he carefully rolled Chad onto his side. With a groan Chad opened his eyes and tried to push himself off the blood-soaked dirt. Artemis could see how badly his arms were shaking and quickly slipped an arm around Chad's waist and pulled one of his arms over his own shoulders. He glanced around as Chad slumped against him. Luna was doing fine; she could easily hold her own in a swordfight.

Lita wasn't doing quite so well though. The bullets had no affect and now she was also trying to dodge the light-sword that the man with the black crystal had suddenly pulled out. The crystal was still pulsing. Artemis' eyes immediately jumped to Reika as her screams stopped. He watched as she fell face forward to the dirt, completely unconscious. He could just see the very tip of something protruding from her back. Whatever it was was very slowly but steadily rising up further in time with the pulses of the crystal. Artemis stared in realisation before yelling to Lita. "Leets aim for the crystal! Try to knock it off balance!"

Lita's next two shots as she came out of her roll were directed at the crystal and hit it dead on. As a tiny, unnoticeable crack appeared in the centre of the crystal, Reika's body stopped jerking and lay limp on the ground. Artemis pulled a knife from his boot. "Lita!" he shouted. "Catch!" Lita caught the knife just in time to raise it in a block above her kneeled position. "Keep him distracted," Artemis continued with a grim smile as he helped Chad struggle to his feet. The sooner he could get Chad to the hover, the sooner he'd be able to get Reika out of harm's way.

Luna had managed to manipulate her attacker into a defensive position. He was an excellent fighter and a worthy adversary but there were very few who could rival a swordsman trained by a Mau warrior. And unfortunately this man, in his black suit and his black glasses and his fancy shoes, simply did not have the necessary speed or skill required to beat her. As he bent to sweep the light across her ankles, Luna jumped up, flipped in the air and landed on the other side of the suit. One second later and he was on the ground with a large, gaping wound straight through his chest. She took a moment to flick her hair back and then she was on the move again.

Lita was down on her knees again and the only thing keeping her alive at this point was the knife that she was only barely managing to hold against the light. When she noticed Luna approaching from the corner of her eye, she breathed a sigh of relief. Though Lita was an excellent shot with a gun, the sword was certainly not her strong point. With a sudden burst of strength she thrust up, shoving the light away from her, and threw the knife to Luna before dashing towards Reika. Her eyes widened when she saw something pointy sticking out of Reika's back. It looked as though it was the end of a blue crystal. Lita cautiously reached forward, unsure as to whether she should be doing anything about the protruding crystal. "Don't touch it!" Artemis called out to her. She glanced up at him as he dropped to his knees on the other side of Reika. "Help me get her back to the hover." Carefully they lifted her up and began to slowly make their way towards the hover.

Luna could feel the sweat trickling down the back of her neck. Her hair was falling into her eyes, impeding her vision, and sticking to her forehead. It had been a long time since anyone had been able to match her in a fight the way this man was able to. Her breath was beginning to come in short gasps and yet this guy seemed to be having no problems at all. He was still fighting as effortlessly as he had been when they had first arrived. Luna noticed the slight frown on his face as he realised that Lita and Artemis were carrying Reika away. It was the first flicker of emotion he had shown and Luna was hoping to take advantage of it when he slowly pulled out a gun while still blocking all her attacks single-handedly. Luna pushed herself into overdrive as he raised the gun to shoot the other three in the distance. "Oh no you don't," she muttered.

Luna began to move faster as she twisted and turned, made sharper jabbing motions with her knife and long sweeping movements with her sword. She smiled grimly. She had his attention again. Hopefully Artemis and Lita had managed to get Reika to the hover. Luna gritted her teeth and planted her feet as she held her weapons in a double block above her. She swallowed, trying to get her breath back. Now that the adrenaline had worn off from that last attack she could feel her strength waning as her breathing got heavier. She didn't know how much longer she'd be able to keep this going.

Artemis turned around once Reika was secure in the back to see how Luna was faring. He frowned when he saw that her arms were shaking and her knees were beginning to buckle. The man was overpowering her. He grabbed a spare knife from under his seat and whispered a quick prayer to every deity he could think of. It had been years since the last time Artemis had practised throwing knives. He just hoped that it would make the distance and that Luna would duck in time. He drew back his arm and threw.

Luna was struggling to keep her arms up. She knew this man was physically stronger than her but there was little she could do about it. She couldn't break her current defence to try something else because she knew it would immediately mean her death. Suddenly she sensed something coming closer to her very quickly. Whatever it was was about to hit her. Luna dropped into a crouch still holding the protective block above her head. Something whizzed straight over her head and she glanced up when she heard the man grunt. A knife was embedded in the centre of his chest. Luna kicked his feet out from under him and began running to the hover. On the way she spotted the black crystal the man had been using so she scooped it up as she passed. Luna jumped into the hover and collapsed into the seat beside Artemis. Reaching over, he brushed some of the hair away from her eyes. She nodded, attempting to smile her thanks at him. "Let's get out of here," she panted.

* * *

Station 5. The only satellite left in the whole of the Triple Alliance that wasn't under government control. Darien smirked as he, Shingo and the girls walked through the main level. Everyone knew that you didn't come to Station 5 if you were looking for legitimate, above-table jobs. Mina and Kunzite had given themselves away by announcing they were looking for jobs to pick up here. He laughed to himself. The crew of the Ice Chamber were either criminals or they were on the run from someone. Looking around, one could see scantily clad women and bookies roaming everywhere. The brothels, of course, were on another level but that didn't stop the prostitutes from circulating where they might find more customers. It wasn't hard to tell why there was no government control: Station 5 was the Underworld of the Triple Alliance. 

Glancing around Darien could see a few policemen lurking around. He knew he would have to take care not to look suspicious here. The coppers of Station 5 were bounty hunters above all else, and he knew there was currently a nice little sum on his head. As they continued walking, a green and blue poster caught his eye. Darien halted for a moment to read what was written on it. _Support the system that supports you. Authorised by the Triple Allied Government, Canberranoire._ With a slight narrowing of the eyes, he ripped it down and threw it into the nearest rubbish bin.

Taking swift strides Darien caught up to Ami, Serena and Shingo, who had all stopped in front of a series of large screens. "So what's today's big event?" he asked, joining the others in watching the screens.

"Melbourne Pod Race," Ami replied.

Serena suddenly grinned and sidled up next to Darien. "You should put a hundred on Makybe Diva," she said.

"Serena," Shingo interjected sharply, "that's cheating!"

Darien creased his brow in bemusement. "How could it be cheating?" he inquired. "I mean it's not like Serena already knows the outcome of the race." He looked down at the girl next to him. "Right?" Serena just smiled brightly in answer. Darien spotted a bookie from the corner of his eye just a few metres away. "Hey Serena how about I just put on fifty?"

Serena shook her head indicating no, giggling every now and then as she watched him. "It has to be one hundred exactly."

Darien chuckled, shaking his head. "Fine, fine, you win." He then walked off to go place his bet.

Once she was sure he was out of hearing range Ami turned back to Serena and was about to say something but Shingo beat her to it. "How could you do that Serena? That was wrong. You're using your abilities to _cheat_."

She tilted her head staring at her younger brother. "I'm not cheating. I'm just giving him a bit of help. He's going to need it pretty soon."

Shingo scoffed and looked away in disgust. "Why do I even bother?" he muttered.

The race was only a minute away from starting when Darien rejoined the group. He looked sceptically at his ticket then directed his gaze to Serena. "Do you know what the odds are on this racer?" he asked her. "It's never going to win." She merely smiled. Darien shook his head in disbelief and turned to watch the viewscreens.

People crowded around the small group from the Ice Chamber as the race started. The noise caused by everyone yelling and cheering, trying to get their racer home, drowned out the voices of the commentators. On the screen one racer was beginning to pull ahead of the pack. A quick glance down at his ticket told Darien that it was indeed Makybe Diva. A small tug on his shirt sleeve drew his attention to Serena, who was bouncing on her toes in excitement. He grinned and began a chant of "Come on Makybe" as Makybe Diva rounded the corner and entered the final straight.

Darien grabbed Serena and spun her around as Makybe Diva crossed the line in first place. "You are brilliant!" he shouted over the roaring of the crowd. "How did you know?" Serena just grinned at him as they stopped spinning and he dropped her back down onto her feet. Completely forgetting about Ami and Shingo for a moment, Darien pulled Serena along behind him to go collect his money.

"Hey!" Ami screeched as she and Shingo began to shove through the mass of people. "Wait for us!" She tried to see past all the tall people around her so that she could find Darien and Serena. Mina would kill her if she left Serena alone with Darien. She smiled in relief as she caught sight of them. "Shingo, go that way," she said, pointing in the direction she had seen Darien and Serena.

Darien smiled at them as Ami and Shingo finally caught up. "I swear this girl is some kind of lucky charm or something," he commented, thinking of the two thousand parlos now tucked away in his pocket. He ruffled Serena's hair only to have her stick her tongue out at him in return.

Ami nibbled on her lip in concern. Serena was obviously getting closer to the stranger and she certainly didn't seem to consider him a threat. This was not good. She started slightly when Shingo leaned in closer and whispered sternly, "What Mina doesn't know won't hurt her." A glance at the younger boy told her not to argue with him.

Ami's attention returned to Darien when he said, "So do you guys want to go to the Upper Levels?"

Her eyes widened subtly and she was about to protest when Shingo cut her off. He nodded, "Let's go."

Ami began stuttering. "Bu-but, Kunzite, he said-"

"Kunzite is your Captain not your keeper Ami," Darien interrupted calmly. "You can make your own choices you know." He paused but then continued after taking a quick, nervous glance at the cop walking towards them. "Besides I think you guys would like it. They're not like the Lower Levels where all the mobs and gangs are. The Upper Levels are where all the freethinkers and the freespeakers and the poets and artists and novelists go."

Ami had also noticed the approaching policeman and knew they needed to move. She nodded in silent agreement. If they had to go to the Upper Levels, and it certainly looked like they did have to, then they would. Serena's safety was more important than Kunzite's instructions. Darien began to lead them through the middle of Station 5 to where he knew the lifts were. As they were getting closer to the central lifts he spotted a cop looking at a holographic on his wrist. A holographic of a girl. A holographic of a girl that looked just like Serena. Darien frowned at this. He didn't know what was going on but it couldn't be good.

The cop moved his gaze away from the holographic and looked straight at Serena. The cop withdrew a pistol from its holster and began to walk towards them, a serious expression on his face. "_Siahan!_" Darien hissed. He grabbed Ami's wrist and yelled, "Run!"

* * *

Hotaru sat on the ramp of the Makoto nibbling her lip. Her parents and Lita had been gone for a long time. She was so worried that something had happened. What if they hadn't found Reika and Chad yet? What if they had been hurt? What if… Hotaru shook her head to clear away her fears. She couldn't think like that. She had to remain positive. They would all be back soon and everything would be okay. She glanced up when she heard the puttering of an engine coming closer. Spotting the hover, Hotaru jumped up and grinned from relief. She turned and ran into the ship, calling out for Jed and Greg the whole time. "They're back!" she yelled. "Guys, where are you? The others are back!" 

Jed and Greg appeared at opposite ends of the walkway above the cargo hold. "Hotaru?" Greg said. "What are you yelling about?" Hotaru wasn't given a chance to as Artemis drove the hover into the cargo hold. Greg and Jed both swore under their breath. From their high positions they could see straight down into the hover and no one in there was looking too good. They both clattered down the stairs and ran to join Hotaru at the hover.

Artemis placed a hand on his daughter's head and smiled at her as he got out of the hover. He dropped a light kiss on the top of her head and said, "Could you start setting things up in the Medi-Unit for me? Just basic things to begin with – the bandages, padding and anaesthetics. And could you also lower the end of the bed so that it's lying flat?"

She nodded and turned to leave then hesitated. "Everyone's going to be alright aren't they Dad?"

Artemis smiled to reassure her. "Yes sweetie they are." He gestured for her to go ahead.

Lita and Luna were trying to help Chad walk towards the Medi-Unit without falling over themselves from their injuries and exhaustion. Jed and Greg had managed to get Reika out of the back of the hover. Greg frowned when he saw the crystal sticking out of her back. "This isn't good," he murmured to himself.

"No it's not," Artemis agreed as he came to help them carry Reika. He continued sternly, "I believe you owe us an explanation Greg."

Greg nodded. "You'll get one as well. I promise. But first we have to get this crystal back inside her. How long ago did she pass out?"

Artemis shook his head. "I'm really not sure how long ago it was. She came round while we were on our way back here but then she passed out for the second time about five or ten minutes ago."

For the next few minutes the men were silent as they carried Reika into the Medi-Unit and lay her down. As soon as they had her down on the bed, Greg began to move around the room and call out instructions. "Could someone get Reika's back bare? Either take her top off or just cut it open. Hotaru could you put the gauze and padding on that table?" He grabbed a needle and hesitated when he looked at the anaesthetics that Hotaru had arranged on the counter. "Um, okay which is it that's used to knock someone out? Local or general?"

The others all glanced at him beginning to worry a little more. "It's general," Lita replied slowly. "Greg, have you ever operated on someone before?"

"No. Which is okay since we're not going to operate on Reika."

"But we have to take that thing out of her back," Luna objected.

"We're not taking it out." Greg was busy filling the needle with the general anaesthetic as he spoke. "I'm going to push the crystal back in. If we took it out it would kill her." He gave Reika the drug and then touched her back lightly, preparing himself for what he was about to do. It was going to be incredibly painful. He just prayed that the anaesthetic worked and that Reika wouldn't be able to feel any of it.

Greg nodded to Jed who grabbed the gauze, ready to try and hold back the blood flow. Greg touched the tip of the blue crystal. Thankfully it hadn't been drawn out too far. "Stop right now!" Lita pushed away from the wall where she had been propping herself up. She might be dead tired but she was still Captain and if she had any say Greg was going to explain himself before possibly endangering anyone in her crew. She paused next to Jed and looked Greg in the eye. "Explain," she commanded coldly. "_Now._"

Greg glared at Lita. "You see this crystal? This is Reika's lifeforce. This is what keeps her alive. If we don't get it back in then Reika is going to die."

"What are you talking about?" Artemis asked.

Greg sighed. "Lita please let me push this crystal in. I'm happy to explain while I'm doing it but right now Reika is losing blood and we have to help her."

Lita hesitated and then nodded. As Greg gently began to push the crystal into her back, Lita said, "Okay Greg, start talking."

Greg bit his lip as he ignored Lita. There was a lot of blood pouring out as he tried to get the crystal back in. There was no point going slowly now, she was losing too much blood. Adding more pressure, he pushed the tip of the crystal back down into the wound. Greg glanced at the others as Jed covered the wound with gauze and tried to slow down the bleeding. "Does anyone know how to stitch someone up?" he asked hurriedly and with worry evident in his voice.

Artemis grabbed a needle and some thread from a drawer and stepped forward. "I'll do it."

Greg breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against a cupboard. He looked at Lita and began to explain what was going on. "There are seven crystals known as the Rainbow Crystals. When they are somehow fused together the Rainbow Crystals form the Ginzuishou – a crystal capable of magnifying magical power. The problem though? The Rainbow Crystals reside in seven different people across the universe." Greg paused and grinned as he thought of something. "Sorry make that six people and one cat. But if the crystals are removed from a person's body then that person dies. Like I said before about Reika's, the crystals are these people's lifeforces. The crystals sustain their lives."

Everyone was giving Greg their undivided attention now, including Artemis who had quickly finished stitching Reika's back together. He looked around at them all before concentrating on Lita. "Before I keep going do you think we should maybe move to the cockpit?" Greg was getting nervous and his palm was getting itchy. He knew from experience that wasn't a good sign. "I think it would be best if we got into the air and get away from this town as soon as possible."

Lita understood immediately. He was referring to the men who had attacked Chad and Reika. And Greg was right to be worried. Who knew how many more of them there might be. Probably even looking for them right now if they had found the bodies. With a decisive nod Lita agreed and everyone except Chad began to leave the Medi-Unit. "I'll stay here," Chad said. "Someone should probably stay with Reika and I don't think I'm in much of a condition at the moment to be moving around a lot."

"I'll catch you up with everything later then," replied Greg.

"Thanks mate." Chad smiled and then shooed him out of the Medi-Unit after the rest of the group.

When they had all assembled in the cockpit, the discussion resumed. Jed sat forward as he tried to sort out what Greg had already told them. "Okay, so there are seven crystals which can be brought together to form some kind of super-crystal. But if these crystals are taken from a carrier's body then the person would die. How am I doing so far?"

"That's pretty much it," Greg replied.

Artemis glanced over his shoulder from where he sat at the consol. "Who were those people in suits with the light-thingies?"

Greg sighed. "Would you believe me if I said they were government agents?"

There was silence as everyone just looked at each other. Artemis put the ship on auto-pilot and turned around with a frown on his face. He exchanged a glance with Luna before looking back at Greg. Luna broke the tense quiet that had fallen by asking, "Is that true? The government actually sent agents after Reika just to get her crystal?" Greg nodded sadly.

"But why?" Jed inquired.

"To get themselves a nice little super-crystal of course. I'm thinking they want it so they can start a new war with the Crystal and Silver Alliances and have complete control of the entire 'verse. They no doubt believe that the lives of seven beings is insignificant compared to the amount of power the Ginzuishou will provide them. Of course it will be seven lives that they waste for absolutely no reason if they don't find the right person to use the crystal."

Lita frowned at Greg. She had been silent until this point, simply listening as Greg explained what he knew about the situation. But now she had one important question to ask before she was willing to believe him about what he claimed was going on. Lita leaned forward and asked, "How do you know all of this Greg?"

Greg took a deep breath. He knew it would come to this from the moment he had received the vision. It was probably better this way anyway. At least he wouldn't have to worry about it or try to hide it anymore. "I'm a Seer," he said. At the blank looks everyone gave him, he rolled his eyes and continued, "I get visions. Sometimes they're of the past, sometimes of the future, and sometimes they're of what's happening right at that moment. Like today. It's because of the visions that I found out about my own crystal."

"You have a crystal too?" Hotaru piped up looking curious. Her eyes widened as the rest of what he said sank in. "You can see the future? Cool!"

Greg smiled slightly. "Not really, unfortunately. But yes, I do have a crystal. I found out about it when I was thirteen. I've never told anyone about it though. If I had, people would have thought I was crazy and they would've locked me up in an institution. The government would have had no trouble finding me if that had happened. Also, there's something else you should know." He looked at Luna. "Your cat Rhett. He has a crystal as well."

Luna blinked, feeling bewildered as she tried to let the information settle in. Her cat had a crystal inside him. Greg could foresee the future. The government was evil. She shoved her hands in her pockets as she took a breath, trying to regain control of herself. She frowned and drew out something hard and sharp. It was the black crystal that the man in the suit ('the government agent,' she corrected herself) had been using against Reika. Luna passed it to Greg. "I picked this up at the fight," she said. "The government agent was using it to draw the crystal out of Reika."

Greg frowned as he examined it. "Can I keep this to analyse it?"

Luna shrugged. "Go ahead." Clapping her hands together, she sat forward as she went into business-mode. "Right then. We have three Rainbow Crystals on board and the government wants them. What's our next step?"

Everyone looked at Lita, who dropped her head and sighed. Glancing back up she answered, "I honestly have no idea."

* * *

Darien glanced over his shoulder as he ran through the throngs of people crowding Station 5, still pulling Ami with him. The cop was still chasing them. He could hear Ami panting beside him and he could see that Shingo was beginning to slow down. Serena was running as quickly as she had been to start with and was out in front of everyone. Darien's eyes widened as he realised she was heading straight for a pair of cops, who had apparently noticed her and were running to meet her. When they were only about ten metres away, Serena swerved to the left and ducked into a darkened corridor. 

"Follow her!" Darien called to Shingo.

The three of them turned into the corridor. Darien groaned to himself when he heard the cops follow them in. He should have known they wouldn't give up that easily. "Halt or we'll shoot!" yelled one of the cops.

Darien rolled his eyes. "You've got to be kidding me," he muttered to himself. Now he was going to have to fight them. He couldn't very well let them just kill him. Or Ami and Shingo either for that matter.

Ami was breathing heavily beside him, clutching his hand painfully. Who would have ever thought she had such a powerful grip? He pulled her to a stop and grabbed Shingo as he glanced backwards. All three cops had their guns out and pointed at them. The one in the centre was ordering them to do something but Darien was only half paying attention. With a grimace, he rescued his hand from Ami's clutches and pushed her onto Shingo. "Take Ami and find Serena," Darien said in a murmur. "I'll catch up to you soon."

Shingo took one look into Darien's eyes and decided not to argue. As Darien slowly turned to face the policemen, Shingo and Ami began to slip away to find Serena. All three cops glared at him and raised their guns slightly higher. Darien fingered the gun tucked into the back of his waistband before dropping his hand back to his side. He wasn't going to shoot them unless he had to. Their bodies would only cause unnecessary complications.

The cop in the middle spoke again. "Hand over the girl and we'll allow you to leave freely."

"You don't know who I am, do you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Give us the girl."

Darien smiled innocently, feigning ignorance. "What girl do you mean officer?"

Again the centre policeman, who seemed to be the trigger-happy type, replied, "The blonde girl. Serena Tsukino, daughter of Kenji and Ikuko Tsukino, both charged and tried for Sedition. Wanted fugitive." He jerked his gun to the side and shot a bullet over Darien's shoulder. "Now start talking!"

'Yep, definitely trigger-happy,' Darien thought. He sighed and whipped his gun out. Before they had a chance to react he squeezed the trigger and shot off three bullets. As the bodies fell to the ground Darien wiped the gun well with his shirt trying to remove all fingerprints from it. He knew he couldn't keep it now, when the bullets could be traced to the gun. He was just happy that when someone came to investigate, the only person the small firearm would lead back to was the non-existent Chiba Mamoru.

He tossed the gun to the ground and stepped towards the cop that had first spotted Serena. Crouching down next to him, Darien covered his hand with his shirt and pressed the button on each side of the communicator. The holographic of Serena popped up and an info sheet appeared on the screen. He frowned when he read the first line of the info sheet. _Serena Tsukino, Classification: Cumhachd_. Darien stood and turned to leave the scene. Thoughts were churning through his head. He now had even more questions than he had started with.

Darien stopped abruptly when he suddenly ran into Ami and Shingo. They were standing still, staring at the whir of motion in front of them. Serena was surrounded by three coppers. But the amazing thing was that Serena was ducking and weaving and punching and kicking as if she'd been doing it her whole life. A quick glance at Shingo informed Darien that she hadn't. The younger boy was just as stunned as he was.

Darien's eyes widened slightly when he realised she had allowed herself to be distracted by two of the cops and wasn't paying attention to the third. As the cop was lifting his baton, Darien sped forward and grabbed it from his hand. The cop twisted to see who had stopped him but was quickly knocked out by the swing of the baton to the back of his head. Darien hooked the baton into the cop's collar and dragged him backwards, providing Serena with a little more room to move.

Serena side-stepped away from an attack from the copper on her right and then followed the movement with a roundhouse kick to the man on the left. The one on the right came at her again with his baton ready to strike. She grabbed the baton while it was still in the air and used it to elevate herself as she kicked the second cop twice across the jaw. Serena held onto the baton and jerked it from the copper's hand as her feet touched the ground again. Pivoting around, she flung the baton behind her, hitting the cop on the forehead and knocking him unconscious.

Now weapon-less, the cop withdrew his gun from its holster and fingered the trigger, ready to shoot at the first moment. He knew he couldn't kill her as the bounty specifically stated that she had to be brought in alive. That didn't mean he couldn't wound her a little though. But Serena wasn't deterred. She had been in perpetual motion since they had jumped her and she wasn't about to stop now, regardless of the fact that there was a gun pointed at her head.

Serena was moving so fast that Darien could barely see her. All he knew was that one moment the last cop had a gun trained on Serena and then a few seconds of blurred figures later, he was out cold on the concrete. Serena was crouched down in the centre of the ring of unconscious men. He glanced at Shingo and Ami, who were still looking shocked but were also whispering hurriedly as they began to move closer. Darien looked back at Serena and took a few steps closer. He kneeled down in front of her and noticed that she was swaying from side to side and that her eyes were unfocused. "Cosmos… cosmos…" she murmured reverently, with a dreamy smile on her face.

Darien frowned, trying to figure her out. "Who are you?" he muttered to himself.

Serena's eyes snapped to him, immediately in focus and looking completely serious. She leaned closer to him. "I'm Sailor Moon," she whispered into Darien's ear. "I'm the most powerful being in the universe."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**'drum beats'**

Darien stared intently into Serena's eyes. The most powerful being in the universe? What did she mean by that? The uneasy shuffling of Shingo and Ami behind him drew his attention back to their surroundings. He quickly glanced around. They had to get out of there immediately before any more cops came sniffing around. Darien grabbed Serena's arm and pulled her up with him as he stood. He looked at Shingo. "Shingo, grab the batons," he said, taking charge of the situation. "We need to get rid of them and get back to the ship."

Darien guided Serena past the unconscious bodies of the policemen, keeping a tight grip on her hand. Serena had reverted to being mute once more after her startling claim that she was the most powerful being in the universe. She was staring at her feet as she walked, like a small, shy child clinging to a father's hand. Looking at her now Darien thought that the picture she presented was a complete contradiction to the person she had been less than two minutes ago.

Shingo quickly moved past them to do as Darien ordered. He knew there was no time to waste. They needed to get away before more coppers had the chance to arrive and discover Serena. Ami was standing motionless, still in shock about all that had happened in such a short period of time. She glanced upwards, startled, when Darien laid his free hand on her shoulder. "Ami, are you okay?" he asked gently. She nodded. "We need to get back to the ship," Darien continued. His voice turned serious, "And when we get there I think it's time you tell me exactly what's going on."

Ami and Shingo exchanged glances. They both knew that Mina would pitch a fit if she found out. Ami was wringing her hands as she thought it over. Before she could say anything though Shingo was already answering Darien. "Okay," replied Shingo. "We'll tell you what's going on, but let's get back to the ship already." Shingo glanced around nervously. They had been standing here for too long. They had to get Serena back to safety. And while Shingo wasn't sure if he completely trusted Darien yet he knew he was right though about getting back to the ship. It wasn't safe out in the open any longer.

Sticking to the shadows and the areas with large crowds, they began to make their way back to the ship. Shingo dropped the batons into a shallow pool of water as they casually walked past a water feature. They had almost made it back to the docking areas when they spotted a couple of coppers rushing towards the direction which they had just come from. Darien felt Shingo tensing up next to him and a quick glance backwards showed that Ami's eyes had widened in fear.

The group from the Ice Chamber were going to have to pass right by the policemen. "Keep calm," Darien muttered from the corner of his mouth. "Keep your eyes straight ahead and try not to look shifty."

Ami, Shingo and Darien all released a relieved breath as the cops passed them without even a glance. Ami smiled slightly as, after that final nerve-wracking moment, they stepped into the docking area and began to stroll towards the Ice Chamber. She just hoped desperately that Mina, Kunzite and Neph were already back so that they could get off this station immediately, if not sooner.

As they finally approached the ship Darien noticed that Kunzite, Mina and Neph had made it back before them. He quickly dropped Serena's hand, which he had still been holding to make sure she didn't disappear, before Mina could see it. He didn't want to do anything that might get him thrown off the ship. It was obvious that neither Kunzite nor Mina would hesitate to do so, regardless of how much money he had paid them. Darien casually placed his hands in his pockets and pulled a bored expression onto his face. It was time to deal with B1 and B2 again, to use an old Terran phrase.

Kunzite was frowning at them all when they arrived. "Where have you lot been?" he demanded. "I said one hour."

Ami stepped forward with a nervous smile. "Sorry Kunzite, we lost track of time and got caught up in the excitement of the crowds. We're not very late are we?"

Darien raised an eyebrow at Ami's lie but didn't comment. Better to just stay out of it altogether. Kunzite scoffed at Ami's explanation but accepted it nonetheless, merely muttering, "Late enough." The captain turned away and began to walk up the ramp into the ship.

Darien couldn't help calling out to him from the back of the group. "Managed to pick up some jobs then did you?" he asked. Kunzite threw an icy glare over his shoulder at him and Darien had to resist the urge to snicker.

Shingo glanced up at the older man as he passed by Darien. "Later," he said with an intense look in his eyes that Darien couldn't quite place.

He nodded to the boy and then meandered into the cargo hold of the Ice Chamber. Darien had the distinct feeling that things were about to get very interesting on this little ship. 'Yes,' he thought to himself. 'Later, indeed.'

***

Later that afternoon Darien was walking through one of the ship's corridors looking for Ami or Shingo. He knew that Mina was down in the bottom of the ship working on the engines, so Darien had thought this would be the best time to find out the truth about Serena. But so far he hadn't been able to find either of them. It was as if they had completely disappeared as soon as the Ice Chamber had left Station 5. Surely there couldn't be that many hiding spots in a cargo ship this small.

Darien glanced at the writing on the walls surrounding him as he strolled along the metal gratings that made up the walkway. He paused a moment and frowned when he realised that it was the same phrase repeated over and over again. _Can you hear the drums Fernando? _Darien looked up above him and to his right at the other wall. They too were covered in the same phrase. Darien tried to analyse the sentence as he continued walking, the words following him constantly along the walls. He didn't know what the name meant but obviously "the drums" had to represent something. He just had no idea what they might be.

He came to an abrupt halt as he rounded the corner and almost walked straight over Serena. The new hallway that Darien had stepped into was completely empty of words, except for the single sentence that Serena was currently writing in tiny letters. When she finished she stepped back and turned to face him, as if she was waiting for him to read the words on the steel wall. Darien raised his eyebrows at her but she simply continued to stare at him. He shrugged to himself and stepped closer to the wall. The letters were so tiny that Darien practically had to squint to read them. But as soon as the words registered in his mind Darien's eyebrows drew together in concentration as he tried to puzzle out this strange girl's meaning.

Darien straightened and faced Serena again. "_The drum beats out of time_," he repeated what he had just read. He wasn't really expecting an answer at all, let alone one that would make sense, but he could always try. Nothing ever wrong with trying as Grandpa Hino always used to say. Serena merely tilted her head to the side and continued staring straight into his eyes.

He rolled his eyes and released a breath in exasperation. Darien was ready to just walk away and continue his search for Shingo and Ami (because obviously Serena wasn't about to provide him with any new or helpful information) when Serena suddenly reached out and placed two fingers at his temple. He felt a slight shock go through him as her fingertips connected to his face but he didn't move his eyes from Serena's. He didn't even blink. And then, before Darien could do or say anything at all, the walls around him disintegrated and it felt as though he was directly inside Serena's mind.

As he glanced around himself in the dark he could hear boots marching closer. Thousands of boots, all marching in time. In the distance he could make out shapes coming closer. Soldiers. They didn't stop or slow down as they approached him; the soldiers just marched straight over him. It felt like he was being trampled to death beneath the solid, heavy, army-issue boots of thousands upon thousands of men.

All of a sudden the scene shifted, like mists in a breeze, and immediately Darien was in a boardroom surrounded by politicians and high-ranking officers of the military branches. It was just like his vision. As he watched, the people transformed into pigs. Still wearing their top hats and fine coats and expensive dresses, they smirked as the pig-man at the head of the table raised his glass to propose a toast. They all cheered and grunted in excitement as the chief of the pig-people pronounced, "To us and to victory!"

Darien's surroundings shifted again and once more he was plunged into darkness. In front of him the pig-people formed a circle around something he couldn't see. Darien edged closer and sucked in a breath when he realised what they were all watching. There was a young girl strapped to a chair and she was writhing in pain. "No! Please no!" she screamed. "Don't make me do it!" 'Why aren't they doing anything to help her?' He wondered. Darien squeezed between two pig-men and looked around at the group. They were all towering over the girl, smirking and cheering at her. The pig-politicians and pig-officers and the young girl all disappeared and Darien was left in the dark with just the sound of marching boots echoing through his head.

He blinked and was immediately standing in the Ice Chamber again. Serena dropped her fingers from Darien's temple but didn't move her gaze. Darien opened his mouth, intending to make some comment though he really didn't know what he had planned to say, but he never got the chance. Serena's eyes fluttered closed and she fell forward into his arms. "Serena?" Darien said, concerned. "Kuso," he swore when she made no response.

Carefully Darien lowered her body to the floor. For such a tiny slip of a girl he was surprised by just how heavy Serena's unconscious body was. "Serena!" called Darien, feeling more anxious by the second. He shook her slightly and gently tapped her cheeks but still Serena didn't wake up. "Bloody hell," he muttered under his breath. He was really getting worried now. He didn't know what to do. He had never learnt CPR or anything like that. Darien knew that he had picked up a few things over his recent years of being shot at and he was capable of stitching himself back up but he didn't know how to fix other people. He wasn't a trained medic.

It suddenly hit him, like a light bulb going off above his head. Ami! She was the medic for the Ice Chamber. Darien lifted Serena back up into his arms again and began to hurry down the corridor. He was just about to start yelling in hopes that someone would hear him when he heard whistling up ahead. Darien sighed in relief and then started calling out. He was more than happy when the whistling stopped and Shingo appeared from nowhere.

Shingo's eyes widened in fear when he saw Serena lying passed out in the older man's arms. "What happened?" he yelped.

Darien shook his head. "I'll explain after. But first we need to get your sister to Ami."

Shingo nodded hesitantly as he bit his lip. He gestured towards the direction he had previously come from. "Come on. Ami's in her room."

Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds later (Darien counted) Shingo pressed the panel next to Ami's door and they walked into the room. Ami glanced up in surprise from where she was writing at her desk when she heard them enter but gasped when she saw Serena. "Put her on the bed," Ami commanded, already in motion and picking up her medic kit from the top of her chest of drawers.

Darien and Shingo stood back and watched Ami work as she checked Serena's pulse, breathing and lifted her eyelids to check the whites of her eyes. She released a breath and stepped back from the bed after she finished listening to the beat of Serena's heart. Turning to the two males Ami stated wearily, "She's fine. Serena just appears to be in a deep sleep. She should come out of it in a few hours." Ami looked directly at Darien. "What happened?" she enquired. "Did you find her like that?" Shingo also turned to him questioningly, searching for answers in the planes of Darien's inscrutable face.

"No." Darien crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the small room. "I almost walked into her while she was busy writing. Serena touched my temple and it was like she was showing me a vision or something. When the vision ended she took her hand away from my face and just suddenly fainted. As though she had been drained of energy somehow." The minute Darien said that he realised it must be true. Serena had used up all the energy she possessed in order to show him that vision. A vision that was so similar to the one that had originally led him on this journey to begin with. Why? What did the vision mean? And what did she mean about "the drums"?

Ami sank down next to Serena on the bed and exchanged a look with Shingo as he began to pace up and down the room. Darien raised an eyebrow at them. Obviously he had stumbled onto yet another fact about Serena that wasn't meant to be widely known. That was twice in one day now. It looked like now was the time to have Shingo and Ami divulge the truth about Serena. "Is Serena a Seer?" he asked in order to introduce the subject. "Is that the big secret?" Not that they were in the wrong for trying to hide it if she was one. Darien knew that people were tried and executed for Sedition for doing a lot less than having a couple of visions.

Shingo rubbed a hand over his eyes. "I wish that was all it was," he muttered.

"Shingo," Ami hissed. Apparently she had been rethinking the decision to open up to Darien since they had left Station 5 behind.

Shingo held Ami's gaze for a moment before looking towards Darien. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't." Shingo narrowed his eyes at Darien's quick reply. Darien shrugged. "Look, I'm not going to tell anyone anything. If I even tried the authorities would arrest me long before I mentioned Serena. You guys aren't the only ones keeping secrets you know."

"We'll tell you everything if you agree to tell us exactly who you are and what it is you're running from," Ami interjected.

Darien cocked his head to the side as he gave Ami an once-over. These people would just keep surprising him it seemed. And they obviously shouldn't be underestimated either. He took a moment to consider Ami's offer before deciding. "I'll only tell you what won't incriminate anyone else since they aren't here to decide for themselves," he finally stated.

"That will do I suppose," she replied.

Darien glanced back at Shingo to see him smiling proudly at Ami. "So?" he asked. "What's the deal?"

Shingo hitched himself up onto the desk, ignoring Ami's work, and then leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. "So Ami told you about how mine and Serena's parents were burnt for Sedition and how we witnessed the execution, right?" Darien nodded. "That happened when I was eleven years old," continued Shingo, as he stared at his clenched hands. "I didn't notice at the time but when I look back to that day I can remember two men wearing expensive-looking suits standing off to the side. They weren't watching my parents burn though, like everyone else was. They were watching my sister."

Ami glanced down at Serena still sleeping peacefully. She passed a hand across Serena's forehead and pushed her so recently cut hair away from her closed eyes as Shingo continued his story. "Three days later Serena went missing. Six months after that I was living in the slums and streets of Canberranoire. I didn't see Serena or Ami or my cousin Mina for two years. Not until Ami found me rooting through a dumpster in a dirty alley and brought me onto the Ice Chamber claiming that Mina had found Serena. I didn't believe her until I saw Serena with my own eyes lying in the med bay hooked up to a machine.

"For two years Serena was held prisoner on a secret government base. They experimented on her and messed about with her brain. They did something to her, changed her into what she is now. Before they kidnapped her Serena was the picture of ordinary. She wasn't especially good at anything and she certainly didn't have any magical powers. She never used to get visions. You saw what she did to the cops, how quick and strong and coordinated she was. She used to be a huge klutz. Serena would trip over her own two feet just walking down the street."

"Secret base?" Darien asked.

"Mina never told us much about it," Ami murmured. "From what I can gather it's on some secret satellite that is constantly in movement with no known coordinates." Ami paused for a moment before continuing to fill in the blanks of Shingo's story. "Mina turned up at my dorm room about a year ago saying that she needed my help. She dragged me down to the docks at Canberranoire and introduced me to Neph and Kunzite, which at the time worried me a bit, and then brought me on board the Ice Chamber and showed me Serena. I cried so hard when I first saw her lying there looking as if she was dead already. Mina knew that my mother was a nurse and so I'd had training as a medic for all my life and she knew that I was studying to be a doctor as well. It's why she wanted me to come on the ship. She must have known details about what happened to Serena on that base that would require a medic's supervision.

"I've seen the scars on Serena's head where the scientists sliced into her brain. It's not pretty. I once heard Mina talking with Kunzite. She didn't know I was eavesdropping outside. She said something about how the people running the base were trying to turn Serena into a weapon."

Ami stopped speaking suddenly as Darien jerked upright. "A weapon?" he asked urgently. "They were trying to turn Serena into a human weapon? Holy Sihar." Darien ran his hands through his hair as he began to stalk across the small cabin.

"What is it?" Shingo frowned. "What do you know?"

Darien exhaled before turning to face Ami and Shingo solemnly. "I should probably start from the beginning. But I need to know that what I'm about to tell you won't leave this room. You can't even tell Mina."

"We agreed before," Shingo answered. "You don't tell our secrets, we don't tell yours." Ami nodded her head in agreement to Shingo's statement.

"Okay," muttered Darien. "Okay." He dragged his fingers through his hair once more as he began. "My name isn't Darien Hino. It's actually Darien Shields."

"Tuxedo Mask," came the sleepy murmur from Serena. Everyone glanced over at her, surprised that she was already awake and recovered, but they saw that she was still sleeping. Darien's brows creased as he wondered what she might be dreaming about and how it could affect him in the future.

He shook the thought away and continued. "I come from Alintarouge where I grew up with my cousin Rei and her grandfather Hino. When I was seventeen I had this dream about the government and it involved a girl screaming about being forced to do something. I woke up the next morning and realised that it was a vision and I knew that I had to do something about it. This was all five years ago.

"So I immediately left home and set out. At the time I really had no idea what I was looking for. After a while though, I fell in with a small group of conspiracy theorists who were trying to look into something that they called Project: Ginzuishou."

Ami looked confused. "Project: Ginzuishou?"

Darien nodded. "The government decided that they wanted to take over the Silver Alliance and the Crystal Alliance. So the military's engineers and scientists began to develop a magical weapon. From what we've found out it consists of two parts: the first part is some sort of object and the second is one particular person with the power to operate it." He glanced over at Serena and Shingo followed his gaze.

"And you think that person is Serena," Shingo finished the unstated thought.

"Maybe," Darien replied quietly. "Why else would they play around with her brain so much and try and tap into whatever potential they saw in her? But there's no guarantee, not unless we confront Kunzite or Mina or Neph about it all and find out what it is that they've kept from you. But I'd rather not do that right now if I can avoid it. Mina and Kunzite dislike me enough already, I can just imagine their reactions if they knew I knew the truth about Serena."

"What were you really doing on Questacon before we let you on board?" enquired Ami. "I'm sure you weren't the victim of a bad holiday like you told Mina."

Darien let his head flop back against the metal wall with a dull thud. "There's a military base out in the desert. I broke in there hoping I could find something on this guy Wilson's hard drive. But I was discovered before I had the chance to search through his files so then I had to get out of there and get off-world as soon as possible."

Shingo glanced over at his sister still lying motionless on the bed. "So where in nine hells are we meant to go from here?"

Darien frowned and trained his eyes on the frail-looking blonde girl. He remained silent. He had no more answers for them than they had themselves.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

'**the politician's daughter'**

Rei paused on the steps of Parliament House and looked up at the large building. She couldn't believe Andrew had actually talked her into doing this. She hadn't set foot inside this building for six years. Not since she finally said no to her father and refused to be a pawn any longer for his always ongoing agendas. Rei hadn't seen or heard from her father since she stormed out of his office that day so long ago now. And yet as she stood on the white steps and stared up at the building that she had always associated with her father, Rei suddenly felt just like the scared little girl that she used to be before she learnt how to rebel.

Rei shook herself out of her reverie and advanced up the stairs. She was here to complete a job and she would damn well do it. She glanced up at the high ceilings and the statues scattered throughout as she strode through the marble halls. As she passed the windows that looked down on the House of Representatives and on the Senate, Rei noticed that Parliament was currently in a question and answer session. Perfect. That meant her father would be tied up for quite a while. That would certainly make things a lot easier for her.

Andrew had sent her here in order to follow up a lead he had discovered thanks to one of his contacts. Someone who preferred to be known only as Dixon had suggested that they should check out the office of one David Takahashi, politician extraordinaire. Andrew had given her the job because he knew that she was good at getting into places like Parliament House while remaining undetected (plus Darien was off somewhere and was, for the most part, completely unreachable). What Andrew hadn't known was that David Takahashi was actually her father.

Rei didn't slow in her steps until she reached the engraved wall plaque that she knew from memory was just outside Takahashi's office. She stopped for a moment to read what the engraved words said: _Support the system that supports you._ Rei scoffed, turned on her heel and approached the double doors which she hadn't passed through since she was twelve years old. With a hand that she convinced herself _wasn't _shaking, Rei grabbed the door handle and entered the offices of Mr David Takahashi, Minister for Defence.

Stepping through those doors felt like Rei was stepping back in time. Nothing had changed except the ages of the faces she saw. There were still interns and lackeys that she recognised bustling around in their cubicles, there was still the same secretary and there was still that horrible painting of her father in his ministerial robes hanging on the wall, always watching her every move. Rei tried to pull herself together as the memories pounded away at her. She wasn't little Rei Takahashi, always left with her grandfather until Daddy found some clever new way to use her, anymore. She was Rei Hino, strong, smart and sassy, and she was a woman on a mission.

With her head held high Rei moved with confidence towards Takahashi's secretary Nancy. She had to project power and pride at all times and not allow for any hint of nervousness to be detected. She knew that all politicians, even the lowest, most insignificant ones, could smell fear. Nancy glanced up from her persocomp with a polite smile as Rei came to a stop in front of her desk. "Can I help you with anything miss?"

Rei fluttered her eyelashes and simpered. She still remembered how to get on the right side of Nancy. "I certainly do hope so ma'am. I'm here to see Minister Takahashi."

The secretary frowned slightly. "I'm sorry but parliament is in session at the moment so the minister isn't available right now." Nancy turned to her persocomp and typed something in before asking, "What was your name? Perhaps there was a mix-up and someone has put you down for an appointment by mistake."

Rei glanced down for a moment shyly before saying with a proud smile, "Rei Hino." Nancy's eyes widened in shock. Obviously she had heard the rumours about the legal name change. Rei privately smirked at the expression on the secretary's face. "My father contacted me last night and asked me to come see him. Perhaps he didn't expect me to arrive so soon after the way our last meeting together ended."

"Miss Takahashi-" Nancy might have heard about the name change but apparently old habits really do die hard.

"Miss Hino," corrected Rei.

"Of course, my apologies," the ageing secretary spluttered. "Miss Hino, your father isn't here at the moment as I mentioned before. As I'm sure you remember, the minister doesn't like to have people inside his office while he's not there, so perhaps you'd like to come back another time?"

"I have to head back home tonight. This is only meant to be a flying visit." Rei leaned closer to Nancy and turned her polite smile up a notch. Nancy seemed to have become tougher in her old age. Rei would have to turn the charm on some more. "Come on Nancy, it's just me. Surely Father won't object to his own daughter waiting for him in his private office. It will be a nice surprise for him, wouldn't you agree?"

"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt." Nancy suddenly smiled at Rei as she pressed the button to unlock Takahashi's private office. "It has been good to see you again Miss Rei. You have grown up into quite the young lady." Rei was stunned when Nancy stood up and pulled her into a swift hug before gesturing for her to walk into the office. She shook her head in amazement once she was sure Nancy wasn't watching her. Just when you think that nothing ever really changes someone goes and surprises you.

As soon as Rei was inside her father's office she stepped over to the desk and sat down behind it, powering up the persocomp as she did. She was not going to glance around the room. She would keep her eyes focused solely on the persocomp. This office had always intimidated her and if she started looking around it she would end up slipping backwards through time. And she didn't need to waste anymore time than she already had today by reliving even more old and deeply buried memories.

From a small, well-concealed pocket on the inside of her handbag, Rei pulled out a portable hard drive. She stuck it into the side of the persocomp and quickly slipped on a pair of leather gloves before her fingers began nimbly passing over the keys. Within seconds she had pulled up a whole series of files that looked promising, including a large one with the title _Project: Ginzuishou._ Rei had a feeling both Andrew and Darien would be very interested in these (though she was sure she would receive an earful from Darien about how she shouldn't have even attempted something so risky as breaking into Takahashi's top secret hidden files). She knew that she didn't have time to browse through the files completely (after all, who really knew how much longer Takahashi would stick around during the question and answer session) so she just set them to copy onto her portable hard drive.

It was almost finished copying when Rei suddenly heard raised voices outside the door. The male voice she immediately recognised as her father's. Nancy must have told him that she was waiting inside for him. She bit her lip as she stared at the persocomp, silently urging it to hurry up and finish the copy. Rei grinned as it finished with a small pinging sound. She slipped the hard drive and gloves back into her bag and pressed the power down button on the persocomp just as her father stepped into his office.

Rei relaxed back into the chair with a smirk stretched across her mouth as she faced her father for the first time in years. His hair line had receded a little and he had more lines around his eyes and mouth but otherwise he still looked exactly like the man she had once known. "Hello Daddy," she said, with a cocky attitude evident in her tone. "Did you miss me?"

Takahashi frowned at her (scowling was childish, he had always told her, and something she should stop doing altogether) and dismissed the assistant that had followed him in with a wave of his hand. "Rei," he responded evenly, the consummate actor as always. "To what do I owe this unexpected… reappearance?"

Rei tilted her head to the side and smiled her cheeky grin. "Just wanted to see how you were getting along. Make sure you hadn't died yet." Rei trailed a fingernail along the polished mahogany of the desk as she spoke. "Maybe we should go get some coffee and bond and become bestest friends over a couple of frappacinos. What do you say?"

"And now for the truth. Why are you really here Rei? I doubt it's because of the emotional satisfaction you receive from this relationship. I haven't seen you in more than five years. So what do you want from me? Money? Power? Fame and fortune?"

She ignored the question. "Now Father, no need to be sarcastic. But hey," Rei shrugged and pulled her gloves and hard drive out of her bag. She slipped the gloves on, hiding the hard drive inside the middle finger of one of the gloves. "If that's how you want to be then I'll just be heading off."

"Not so fast." Takahashi moved to his desk and pressed a button on the intercom. "Nancy could you please page security? I would like them to look over a possible thief." He cast suspicious eyes around his office before returning them to his daughter.

Rei huffed and tried to adopt an annoyed tone. "A thief? Daddy, I'm offended. How could you say such a thing about your own daughter?"

"Please Rei; do you really take me for a fool?" Takahashi raised an eyebrow as he spoke. "Do you think I'm not aware of what my nephew has been doing the past few years? I have been kept well-informed of the fact that Darien is wanted by the police. Like father, like son." He sneered, "My sister was an idiot for marrying Shields."

Rei could feel her shoulders stiffening in anger but tried to keep in control. It was fine to insult her but no one was allowed to take a shot at Darien or his parents (who, from the very few memories she had of them, she knew that she had liked). She slung her handbag over her shoulder and smiled tightly. "Well, I'll just go seeing as how, as always, you don't have anything nice to say."

"Don't you go anywhere young lady. You are not leaving this room until security arrives."

"You honestly think I've taken something?"

Takahashi scowled at her. "I just don't trust you."

"The feeling is mutual."

The intercom buzzed at that moment and Nancy's voice floated into the room. "Sir, security has just arrived."

"Thank you Nancy," replied Takahashi. "Please send them in."

The office door opened and two big, burly men entered. Rei rolled her eyes before immediately passing her bag to one guard and held her arms out for the other to scan her. The younger guard seemed slightly surprised that she appeared to know the routine so well but quickly regained his composure. He ran the scanner down Rei's body and then around her before patting her down with his hands. "She's clean," he spoke in a gruff voice. At least he was quick and to the point though. Unlike the guard that was taking his sweet time rooting through her handbag.

The guard picked up a small, plastic case and held it out so that she could see. "What's this?" he questioned.

"Lipstick," Rei countered with a scowl.

He eyed her warily for a few moments before apparently deciding to believe her. He took a few more things out of Rei's bag before turning to her father. "Everything seems to be in order sir."

"Thank you for that," Takahashi responded with his polite, butter-up-the-voter smile plastered across his face. "Now if you would be so kind as to show Miss Hino out it would be greatly appreciated."

"There's no need for that," stated Rei. "I can easily see myself out."

"Yes, I'm sure you can, but it would make me feel so much better to know that you were safely out of the building rather than skulking in corners and sticking your nose into matters that don't concern you."

Rei threw her stuff back into her handbag and stalked over to the door, not bothering to wait to see whether the guards would accompany her or not. "Lovely to see you again Dad," she spat out caustically.

One guard opened the door and waited for her to walk through. "By the way Rei, how's your eye?" Takahashi called out spitefully, going straight for her weak spot. He had always known when she was younger about how sensitive she felt about being blind in her right eye. Somehow he must have sensed that that sensitivity was still there buried somewhere deep within her, even though she had long ago accepted and adapted to her partial blindness.

But Rei wasn't going to let Takahashi get the last word. "It's probably working better than your disease-filled penis is," she threw back over her shoulder.

Once they had left Takahashi's personal office both of the guards took hold of Rei's elbows and guided her back into the corridors of Parliament House. When the guards continued to hold of her Rei smirked and commented, "You guys must really love your jobs since you're still manhandling me out for no reason. I have to say I admire the dedication you have to the security of our government."

When they didn't reply Rei said, "You two are both the strong and silent type, eh? I like that in a man." That at least got the younger guard to look at her but still neither guard said anything.

She kept up the witty comments until the guards deposited her back on the dirty white steps outside Parliament House. She smiled sweetly at them and waved as she said in a sultry voice, "Bye boys."

Rei sauntered down the steps and began walking back towards the docks in order to get a transport back to Alintarouge. It wasn't until she was fifteen minutes away from Parliament House and absolutely certain that she wasn't being followed (Rei didn't put it past her father to have someone track her) that she slipped the hard drive out of her glove.

With a smile Rei tapped the small device against the palm of her hand. She couldn't wait to see what was in those files. Rei moved the device into the secret pocket in her bag again so that customs at the docks wouldn't find it. She couldn't use the same trick as she had on the guards because she knew that customs would find something hidden on her person but they wouldn't search her bag quite as extensively. She smiled again and there was a spring in her step as she continued down the street. It was time for her to get back home.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter ****9**

**'the black crystal'**

Lita rubbed her eyes wearily before glancing back at Reika. Reika was still passed out on the Medi-Unit bed from the anaesthetic. Lita's gaze moved to the large wound stitched together in Reika's pale back. If Greg hadn't had that vision when he did… she shook her head, refusing to even consider that possibility. Lita let her head flop back against the edge of the chair she was sitting on. She had no idea what she was meant to do now. According to Greg there were three of these Rainbow Crystals on board the Makoto. One inside Reika, one inside Luna's cat, and one inside Greg himself. And that meant there would be even more government agents coming after them. And then what would they do? Surely they couldn't keep running and fighting them off forever.

Lita sighed and turned her thoughts back to Reika's injuries again. She knew that as Captain of the Makoto she should try and get in contact with Reika's fiancée and let him know what had happened. But how was she meant to explain that the government had tried to kill her in order to retrieve a crystal that resided inside her body. Who in the 'verse would ever believe a story like that? Although Reika had once mentioned that her fiancée was a bit of a conspiracy nut so maybe he would believe her.

The door to the Medi-Unit slid open and Luna popped her head in. With a sigh she asked, "How is she?"

Lita shook her head sadly. "No change yet. Hopefully she will wake up soon."

"Well, there's nothing we can do right now." Luna nodded her head towards the corridor. "Come on Leets, dinner is ready."

"But-" Lita tried to protest.

"No buts. You have to eat. Don't make me come in there and drag you out by your ear. Because you know I will."

Lita smiled weakly. "Okay, I'm coming. No need to turn violent on me Luna. I'll meet you in the galley."

Luna nodded and left as Lita stood up. She lightly touched Reika's forehead and murmured, "I'll come back later." With one final glance behind her Lita went to join the others for dinner.

The mood in the galley was sombre that night. Luna and Artemis were constantly exchanging serious glances. Chad was silent, still in pain due to his own wounds caused by the two government agents. Lita glanced over at Greg, who was deep in thought, no doubt thinking about the dark crystal he had been examining. Even Jed and Hotaru were quiet, simply pushing food around their plates rather than cracking their usual jokes in order to keep the whole crew entertained.

The silence finally made Lita snap. "Okay, that's it. Someone needs to start speaking." She looked around at her crew, having grabbed their undivided attention with her sudden outburst. "Reika would not want us moping around like this. I mean, what is it that she's always telling us? Well?"

"That laughter is the best medicine," a soft voice spoke from the doorway behind Lita.

"Exactly," Lita said emphatically before realising just who it was that had answered her question. She spun around in her seat and shrieked, "_Reika!_"

Jed quickly jumped up to lend Reika his support and guided her to the table. "You shouldn't be up and moving," he chastised her. "You haven't mended completely yet."

"Jed's right sweetie," added Luna. "You should still be resting."

"I've done enough resting Luna." Reika smiled and leaned her head against her hand. "I feel like I've been asleep for hours."

"You have been," Greg murmured, only half aware of the conversation.

"Hotaru could you please get another plate and put some food together for Reika?" Artemis asked his daughter.

"Artie, don't worry about me please," protested Reika weakly. "I'm really not hungry."

"You have to eat. You need sustenance," he replied. "Hotaru put the plate together, just the light salads and some bread."

"Yes, sir!" Hotaru saluted her father and smiled at Reika.

"So what have I missed?" Reika glanced around the table.

"We'll get you caught up later," Lita answered. "Right now you should just get some food into you and get your strength back."

Greg was chewing his food slowly while he stared off into space. He had spent most of his afternoon experimenting with the dark crystal but he still hadn't figured it out. He wasn't sure if it was some new device that scientists had cooked up or if it was a natural element that was attracted to the Rainbow Crystals. Greg was more inclined to think it was the former rather than the latter. Did it require magical powers to operate it? From what Artemis had described to him it sounded like the agent had used telekinesis to keep the crystal floating in mid-air.

Greg finished his meal and rinsed his plate in the sink. He lightly touched Reika on the shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay," he murmured. "If you feel up to it, come see me after you eat and I'll explain what's going on. But if you start feeling drowsy then please go sleep instead. I'm sure you need it."

She granted him a smile and patted his hand. Reika nodded. "Thank you Greg."

When he was back in his bunk Greg took out the black crystal again. It was about ten centimetres long with sharp points on each end. He could see the tiny crack in the crystal where Lita had shot a bullet at it. Otherwise it was completely flawless. It looked like onyx but Greg had a feeling that it was something else entirely, something that he had never encountered before, neither in his visions nor in reality.

As Greg stared into the crystal he could see a small image beginning to take shape in the dark depths. It was a young woman with short blonde hair hanging into her eyes. Her eyes were blue, such a soft, sorrow-filled shade of blue, and her skin was like porcelain it was so delicate and pale. As he watched she lifted a finger to her lips, as if she was trying to tell him to keep quiet. The image slowly faded away. When it had completely disappeared Greg suddenly dropped the crystal and pitched forward with his head in his hands as a vision forced its way into his mind.

_The blonde girl from the crystal was lying on a bed sleeping peacefully as a blue-haired girl, a teenage boy, and dark-haired man watched over her. The boy and the man exchanged a glance as the blonde girl shifted and murmured in her sleep._

_The scene changed and now the blonde girl was trapped in a small room, surrounded by four bright, white walls. There was no way out, no way to escape, no doors or windows. She clenched her hands around her head and screamed, "_HELP ME!"

Greg woke up and found that he was lying on his floor shaking. With his head pounding as if a jackhammer was trying to split it open, Greg dragged himself across to his nightstand and grabbed a couple of painkillers from the drawer. He fell back against his bed; his legs sprawled out in front of him, and stared up at the ceiling. Who was that girl? Greg glanced over at the crystal sitting innocently on his desk. With a sigh he shook his head and closed his eyes.

***

Jed was lying in his bunk, trying (and failing) to fall asleep when he heard a timid knock at his door. "Come in," he called out to whoever it was and slowly sat up.

The corners of his mouth turned up as Hotaru slipped into the small cabin. He jerked his head to the side, inviting her to sit down next to him on the bed. "Sorry," she muttered. "Did I wake you up?"

"No I was still up." Jed took in the dark circles just starting to appear under the teenager's eyes. "Couldn't sleep?"

Hotaru shook her head and pulled her knees up to her chest. She rested her head against her knees and replied, "Had a bad dream."

Curled up as she was Hotaru looked more like the quiet eleven year old he had known when he first came aboard the Makoto, rather than the outgoing, cheerful fourteen year old she had grown into. She looked so small and scared, more so than Jed had ever seen her. He rubbed her back gently. "What was it about?"

"Being followed. Being attacked." Hotaru's voice was hollow. "Everyone dying and I wasn't good enough to save them." Her voice suddenly cracked and a lone tear slipped down her cheek.

Jed pulled Hotaru into a hug. "Hey, what happened today is not your fault, okay? I'm sure you felt helpless while your mum, dad and Lita went out to search for Reika and Chad. And you probably feel guilty that you couldn't do anything to help."

With her hands clenching around Jed's shirt Hotaru glanced up at him. "How did you know?"

"What do you think has been keeping me awake?" he smiled, trying his best to comfort her. "The exact same thoughts that you've been having."

"You'd make a good big brother, you know that?"

Jed chuckled lightly. "I should hope so, since I've had quite a bit of practice at it." He winked. "But thanks for the compliment nonetheless."

Feeling somewhat better than what she had done Hotaru pulled away from Jed's arms and leaned against his wall. "Practice?" she raised an eyebrow. "What are your siblings like? How many do you have?"

"Three. All of them girls."

"Wow." Hotaru snickered, and then met his questioning glance. "I bet that must have been so much fun for you growing up. All those dolls, and make-up, and tea parties."

"Hey!" Jed punched her jokingly on the arm. He watched as she began to yawn. "You know, when my sisters used to have bad dreams I would tell them a story to get them back to sleep again."

"That's sweet." Hotaru yawned a second time and could feel her eyes falling shut. She looked up at Jed again. "Tell me a story?" she murmured.

He smiled softly. Jed shifted onto the floor and gently pushed Hotaru to the side so that she was lying down with her head on the pillow. As her eyes closed Jed pushed her fringe behind her ears. "Once upon a time there was a princess who lived in a large castle…"

***

Luna stepped into the cockpit and slipped her arms around Artemis. After pressing a kiss to his temple she whispered in his ear, "Aren't you coming to bed?"

Artemis made a non-committal sound in reply. Furrowing her eyebrows, Luna moved to the co-pilot's seat and sat down so she could get a better look at her husband's face. He was looking worried and kept glancing at the radar screen as he flew the ship. She directed her eyes to the radar and could see a couple of dots on it, but she had no idea what that meant. Luna had never been very good with the technology of actually flying; she had always spent more of her time down in the engines and patching up the outer frame after a firefight. But now Luna was starting to feel nervous as well. Artemis only got worried when something was really wrong. "What is it?" she asked hesitantly.

Artemis pointed to a dot that was in approximately the centre of the radar screen. "This is us," he stated. He then moved his finger to the other dot and glanced up at Luna. "This is another ship. It has been flying in the same direction as us and continually at about the same distance behind. It's been there for a while now."

Luna felt a cold shiver run down her back. "So you think someone might be following us?"

Artemis frowned as he glanced once more at the radar and then turned his gaze back to the windshield in front of him. "No Luna, I don't _think_ so. I'm _certain _that someone is tailing us."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**'sword master'**

Mina wiped her brow and tried to fan herself with her hands. She always hated having to come down into the engines; it was always so burning hot. She tried to wipe the sweat off her palms before picking up her wrench again. From her position lying underneath one of the engines Mina reached up and tried to tighten up some of the nuts and bolts. Once she finished, she tapped the communicator at her wrist. "Neph, give engine three a try now," she said.

"Sure thing," he replied. "Here we go."

Mina grinned as the engine above her roared to life and joined in with the other engines already running. "Brilliant. I'm coming back up," she spoke into her communicator once more before switching it off. She crawled back to the manhole opening, dragging the toolbox with her, and pulled herself back up into the cargo hold.

With a sigh Mina plaited her hair again (after having most of it fall out while working on the engines) before turning around. She jumped slightly at the sight that greeted her. A man was doing push-ups in the middle of the cleared floor without a shirt on. Mina felt her stomach tingle as she watched a drop of sweat trickle down the well-toned back. Sure she had a boyfriend but she could still appreciate a good-looking man just as well as the next woman could. Mina scowled though when it registered in her mind just who it was that she was appreciating.

Darien stood up and wiped his face and neck with the towel he'd left on a crate. He smirked as he turned to face Mina. "See something you like?" Darien raised an arrogant eyebrow at her.

"Hardly," Mina scoffed. She cast suspicious eyes around at the crates piled up. "What are you doing down here Hino?"

"Just trying to keep fit Miss Aino." Darien trailed his eyes over Mina's oil-streaked face and work overalls. "Care to join me?"

Mina merely sneered at him and walked up the steps, intending to head to the cockpit. Halfway up, she turned and glowered at Darien. "Don't touch anything," Mina warned him in a frosty voice.

With an innocent grin Darien saluted her in response. Mina turned again with a huff and disappeared up the stairs.

Once Darien was sure she was gone he threw the towel onto the wooden crate. Throwing his hand to the side he conjured his sword. It had been quite some time since he had been able to run through his sword drills. Grandpa Hino would be so disappointed in him. Slowly and steadily Darien began to twist and parry and block his way through his drills.

***

Serena glanced both ways down the hall as she poked her head out of Ami's cabin. Seeing no one around she quickly snuck across to her own bunk. She wasn't sure how long she had been sleeping but she had a feeling that it was a new day. Serena opened up her drawers and pulled out a white sundress. As she slipped it on she remembered the dream she'd had.

Serena tried to resist most of her dreams and visions, especially ones about her own future. It made her feel as though she had no control of her own destiny. Even when it was something good about the future, like the vision she had of her daughter, she still tried to resist in order to keep her destiny in her own hands. But this dream had been different somehow.

She thought it might have been a vision of a parallel world with a parallel Serena and a parallel Tuxedo Mask in it. She had been wearing a long, flowing, white dress and her hair had been done up in two buns with two long ponytails, the same style Serena used to wear hers in before chopping half of it off. She had been in a large ballroom and she had danced with a handsome man with dark hair wearing a mask. Serena had instinctively known that that man was that world's Tuxedo Mask.

When Serena had woken up she had known that she had to act on this dream, she had to re-enact it. She still didn't know why, only that she had to. Serena glanced at her reflection in the small mirror that Mina permitted her to have and touched her short, blonde locks. She bit her lip in thought and then grinned as an idea came to her. She quickly pulled her hair up into two short pigtails and tied them with white ribbons. Serena gave a satisfied nod when she saw the final result. It was the closest she could get to looking like the dream-Serena.

Serena checked the hallway again before she stepped out of her cabin. She placed a hand against the metal wall of the Ice Chamber, closed her eyes and stretched out her senses. Now she just had to find Tuxedo Mask. Serena didn't often use her magic like this. In fact, she usually didn't use it all, except for the visions which she had no way to stop. She hadn't tried this technique since Mina had taken her away from the Institute. With her senses Serena could feel where everyone was. Mina was in the bunk she shared with the captain. Ami and Shingo were both in the common. The captain and the pilot were in the cockpit. And Tuxedo Mask was in the cargo hold.

Opening her eyes again Serena practically skipped her way towards the cargo hold. Everything was going perfectly.

Serena paused at the bottom of the stairs and watched Darien move across the cargo floor. He was like some sort of exotic animal, so sleek and smooth and controlled in his movements. He was so focused that he hadn't even realised that she was there yet. Serena slipped silently across the cargo hold, positioned herself directly behind him and waited.

Darien spun around on his toes, sword twisting above his head, and quick as a flash brought the sword slashing downwards. Eyes widening suddenly as he saw Serena, Darien just managed to pull the sword to a halt, only a millimetre away from cutting into the blonde girl's neck. He breathed heavily and stared into Serena's smiling eyes. No one had ever been able to sneak up on him like that. She was bloody lucky that he hadn't cut her head off. And now his fear of what he had almost done was making him angry. "What the hell were you thinking sneaking up on me like that?" Darien yelled as he dropped his sword to his side and let it disappear into thin air. "I could have killed you!"

Serena was unfazed. She continued to look up at him with her innocent eyes and smile. "Dance with me," she demanded in her soft voice.

Darien blinked. "Pardon?"

"Dance with me," Serena demanded for a second time, this time in a stronger voice. She placed one hand on his bare shoulder and took his left hand in her other before he had a chance to object.

Darien opened his mouth and closed it again, unsure of what to do. He tried to pull his hand away and step back but Serena's grip was too tight. She leaned up on her toes and moved closer. When her lips were just centimetres away from his own, Serena whispered, "Dance."

"If I dance with you will you loosen your grip on my hand then?" Darien raised his eyebrows at her.

Serena tilted her head to the side and nodded. She relaxed her grip slightly. With a sigh Darien placed his free hand on Serena's waist. "Okay, you win. Let's dance."

Slowly Darien began to lead Serena across the cargo hold in a waltz. "You know, it's been a long time since I did this," he commented, "and even then I was never very good at it." Just as he said that he accidentally stepped on her toes. He cringed. "Sorry about that."

Serena didn't reply, just closed her eyes and continued her graceful movements. Darien watched her face as he stumbled through the steps. She looked… peaceful. This young woman was such an enigma. First she writes on walls, and then she's a fighting machine, and now a dancer so good that even he was beginning to get better just by dancing with her. Even with everything that Ami and Shingo had told him about her past he still couldn't figure her out. He was also having trouble seeing the klutz that Shingo had spoken of.

Darien was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable with the silence and so began speaking again to fill it. "Don't you find it odd to be dancing without any music?" he asked.

Serena opened her eyes again and stared up into his. "Just because you can't hear the music doesn't mean it isn't there," she replied. "You just need to feel the music." Serena dragged her hand down from Darien's shoulder, across his chest and rested it over his heart. "In here."

They had stopped moving and were simply standing in the middle of the cargo hold, the crates stacked around them. Darien felt his breath catch and his heart beat a little faster as Serena left her hand on his naked chest. He could feel how close she was and, unconsciously, he pulled her still closer using the hand he still had at her waist. Centimetre by centimetre he lowered his head closer to Serena's. His lips were almost touching hers when a voice called out.

"What in nine hells do you think you're doing?"

Darien and Serena sprang apart immediately. Turning around they saw Kunzite stalking angrily towards them. "Oh great," Darien muttered under his breath. He snuck a glance at Serena and saw that her blank expression was covering her face again. She didn't seem to care or even realise that they had just been caught almost kissing. As Darien looked at her, Serena turned her head slightly to shoot him an amused glance and winked. Then again, maybe she was completely aware of what was happening.

Kunzite's eyes quickly rove over Serena to make sure nothing had happened to her before stepping right up into Darien's face. Without looking at Serena again the captain commanded, "Serena, go up to the common. I need to speak to Hino."

Darien frowned. "Don't talk to her like that."

Kunzite sneered at him. "You shouldn't be speaking at all Hino, after what I just saw. I'm just about ready to throw you off my ship right here," he hissed. Kunzite actually looked at Serena this time to give her his order. "Serena I told you to go up to the common."

"No." Kunzite's eyes widened in shock as Serena's eyebrows lowered in anger. Darien looked over at the mysterious girl and saw that she was really angry. She was furious.

Kunzite blinked and tried to get his thoughts together. Surely he was hearing things. After all, Serena hadn't said one word to him in the twelve months that he had known her. "Excuse me?"

"I said no." She could feel the ends of her fingers shaking.

Darien flinched as he felt the waves of power rolling off of Serena. "Sliha," he swore.

Kunzite stared at Darien. "What?"

Darien glared at him. "You, shut up." He stepped closer to Serena and gently laid his hands on her shoulders. "Serena, look at me." Gradually Serena raised her head and Darien saw her angry, red, power-filled eyes. A swift glance down showed that her fingers were still shaking with the repressed magic. "I want you to listen carefully okay?" When Serena nodded he continued, "You need to calm down."

"How?" Serena's voice came out as nothing more than a puff of air but somehow Darien understood what she meant.

"Keep looking at me. Forget everything. And then think of a happy place, your own personal haven of peace and harmony."

He could feel her power lessening as her eyes, still fixed unblinking on his, slowly turned back to blue. He relaxed his grip on her shoulders and softly ran his hands up and down her arms in an attempt to keep her in this moment and calm. Finally, all the power seeped away and Serena briefly shut her eyes in relief. Darien grinned. "That was great. You were great."

"What the hell was that?" Kunzite demanded to know.

Before he could receive a reply Neph's voice was broadcast over the comsystem. "Attention everyone! We have a slight problem. All crew members please report to the cockpit immediately."

"I think that's your cue to leave Captain," commented Darien snidely.

"It's Serena's cue to leave as well, in case you weren't paying attention Hino."

Darien glared at Kunzite over his shoulder. "She's in no condition at the moment to deal with whatever emergency your crappy, run-down tin can is experiencing. Now go do your captainy thing Kunz and let me help her."

"Fine," Kunzite spat out. "But it will be your head on a platter when Mina finds out." He made his way across the cargo hold but paused at the stairs. His final words were, "And it's Kunzite."

Darien returned his gaze to Serena, who was still watching him. "Hey, it's okay," he murmured. "I'm still here." He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. Serena carefully twined her thin arms around his torso and buried her head in his chest. Darien sighed and whispered, "Everything will be alright."

***

"Neph, what in the 'verse is this 'slight problem' of yours?" Mina asked as she stomped into the cockpit. She had just been about to catch-up on some much needed sleep and she didn't appreciate the sudden wake up call. She blinked when the others all looked at her with worried expressions. "What did I miss?"

Kunzite spun around in his chair. "Someone zapped us and we're getting pulled in to the planet."

"Kami," Mina breathed. She rushed over to Neph and looked down at the screen. She poked the pilot in the shoulder. "Can't you do something?"

Neph shook his head. "I've tried everything to break the link. We're stuck until we hit land."

Shingo was standing by the door with his arms folded and a scowl on his face. "Is it pirates?" he queried.

"My bet is yeah," replied Neph. "We got pirates."

"Well, isn't that just peachy? A group of scavengers on a rust-bucket boat getting zapped by pirates. How desperate are they?" Shingo made a face, then stood up straight and made a move to leave. "If anyone needs me I'll be in my room."

"You can stay right where you are Shingo. We need to get a plan together." Kunzite cocked his head to the side.

"Why should I bother?" Shingo raised his eyebrows. "You'll just tell me to do the same thing you always do – keep quiet, don't move and don't get mixed up in any fighting." He shook his head in disgust. "I'll see you guys later."

Kunzite growled lowly in his throat. "What is it with Tsukinos and insurrection today?" he grumbled.

"What are you talking about?" wondered Mina, feeling utterly confused.

"Nothing. I'll explain later."

Mina frowned but put the matter aside. They had more pressing problems to deal with first. "Ami, how are the med supplies?" she inquired.

"Doing good," answered Ami. "I managed to pick up some things cheap on Questacon that we'd run out of, so we've got a fully-kitted med bay again. If things go ugly, there won't be any problems in terms of stitching us up."

"Okay, so do we go about this the same way we usually do? Or do you have an actual plan Mal?"

Neph glanced over at the captain and said, "Gee, an actual plan? What a novel concept."

Kunzite shrugged. "Well, no, I don't have any sort of solid actual plan…"

"Right. The flying by the seats of our pants method it is. Again."

"Hey now," Kunzite objected. "It's worked before. It's a tried and true method."

"'Course it is Captain." Ami smiled. "Call me once we've landed. I'm going to go find Serena. It's not like her to not come to a crew meeting."

Mina looked up thoughtfully as Ami left. "Ami's right," she said. "It isn't like Serena to miss something like this. I wonder where she is." 'And if she's okay,' Mina added in her mind.

Kunzite growled again. Mina and Neph both looked at him. "What's up with you?" asked Neph.

"I do not like Hino."

Neph shook his head feeling amused. "What's he done this time? Breathe the wrong way?"

"He was taking advantage of Serena. I caught them making out in the cargo hold."

Mina's blood began to boil. "He did _what?"_

Kunzite was rambling now. "Well, okay, so maybe they weren't exactly kissing. But they were about to. 'Course then something weird happened to Serena, she started talking back to me and Hino seemed like he was afraid Serena would do something unless he got her to calm down."

Mina was still stuck on the image of Darien and Serena smooching. "I am going to throttle him to death, bring him back to life and then rip his head off."

Neph grabbed her arm before she could carry out her threats. "Whoa, one thing at a time, eh? Stop the pirates first. Then you can murder Hino as many times as you like."

"You're right, I know." She took a breath and lowered herself onto Kunzite's lap. "So what do we do now?"

"We wait," Kunzite replied.

Twenty minutes later the entire crew of the Ice Chamber and Darien were waiting in the cargo hold. From his seat on one of the crates Darien could see Mina giving him death stares. Kunzite and Neph were looking prepared and were fingering their guns as the ramp began to lower. Ami looked worried, Shingo was bored and Serena was writing on the floor, the same word over and over. Dance. She'd been doing it ever since she pulled out of his hug fifteen minutes ago, and he had watched over her the whole time. Darien smirked and returned his gaze to Mina as he stood up.

The ramp dropped to the ground with a thud. Darien followed the others off the ship at a leisurely pace. Pirates, Neph had said. He could handle pirates. It would probably be good as well to work off his excess energy. After the run-in with Kunzite earlier he was spoiling for a fight. Darien stepped onto the dry, dusty land and glanced around at the large group surrounding the Ice Chamber's crew, all of them carrying a big gun or wielding a very sharp-looking knife. 'Well,' thought Darien, 'this will be interesting to say the least.'

The ring-leader of the pirates flicked off the safety on his shotgun and pointed it at Kunzite. "Hand over everything you've got and maybe then we'll let you go." He cast his eyes over the Ice Chamber. "Although maybe we'll keep your ship too. I'm sure it could be sold off as scrap metal." The other pirates all laughed as if their leader had just told the best joke they'd ever heard.

Kunzite shrugged. "Go ahead. You won't find anything valuable though." He stepped to the side and gestured towards the ship. He raised his eyebrows as a couple of the pirates shifted nervously at his compliance. It wasn't something they were used to. A ship's captain was meant to put up a fight and they were meant to take their bounty by force.

The pirate leader scowled and clicked his fingers at two of the men. "Carok, Duvet, check it out." They glanced at each other but didn't move. "Now!"

Mina watched them from the corner of her eyes as they walked up the ramp and disappeared into the cargo hold. Once they were completely out of sight Mina flicked her fingers. A minute later two identical screams were heard and then the sound of two bodies crashing to the floor.

The pirate sneered at Kunzite. "So you left an ambush inside did you?"

Kunzite shook his head. "Nope, whole crew's out here, right where you can see them." He raised his eyebrows. "You don't seem too worried about your men."

"They're expendable."

Neph snorted. "How do you lot feel about that, being expendable and all?" he commented to the rest of the pirates assembled. They all continued to look at him blankly. "Bit dim aren't they?" Neph said in an aside to Shingo.

The ring-leader pointed at two more pirates. "Go see if they're dead. And kill whoever attacked them."

Kunzite exchanged a glance with Mina and Neph. Once the two pirates were also in the cargo hold to find their mates, Mina flicked her fingers again so that the electric shocks she had sent through the metal floor would also take them out. At the same time Kunzite and Neph both drew their guns and began firing. As the pirates started to react and shoot back Darien flung his hand to the side and conjured his sword. With no gun available for him to add to the bullets flying everywhere, the sword was the only weapon he had. A quick swing later the man standing to his left was reduced to shrieking in pain on the ground with a gaping wound in his gut.

Kunzite let out a groan as a bullet grazed his shoulder. "Neph, go get the ship ready to fly!" He ducked and fired at the woman aiming for Mina before glancing towards Ami. "Ami, take Serena and Shingo and deal with the bodies in the hold." Ami quickly grabbed hold of Serena's arm and ran up the ramp with Shingo, hoping that they wouldn't get hit while their backs were turned. Neph fired off three more shots, taking out another of the pirates, before disappearing into the Ice Chamber as well.

Darien had been moving silently around the outside of the fighting with his sights set on the pirate captain. Just as the burly man was about to kill Kunzite while he yelled his instructions to Ami, Darien stepped up behind him and held his sword across the pirate's throat. "Don't even think about it," muttered Darien. "Drop the gun." When the man hesitated Darien pressed the sword closer and drew a few drops of blood. "Do it."

The pirate dropped his gun and it landed at his feet with a dull thud. "Good," Darien said without moving the sword. He raised his voice so he could be heard by the people still shooting. "All of you drop your goddamn weapons or your captain dies a slow and very painful death."

Everyone spun around to face Darien and the pirate leader. They all blinked in shock for a moment and then the pirates looked to their captain for instructions while Kunzite pointed his gun towards one pirate and Mina held her pistol out towards another. "Blethen, what do we do?" asked a female pirate as they all shuffled around still holding their weapons.

"Do as they say," Blethen rasped out past the sword.

After a moment the rest of the pirates threw their weapons into a pile in front of Mina and Kunzite. "That's the way, you motley group of good little minions," Darien commented. He shot a quick glance over his shoulder and spotted the pirates' transport ship parked behind an outcropping of rocks. Turning deadly serious eyes back to the pirates he stated, "You will slowly step away and start walking back to your transport."

They glanced at Blethen again and at his desperate nod they obeyed Darien's order. As they backed away Kunzite and Mina continued to keep their guns trained on the pirates. Darien pulled Blethen around with the sword still at his throat so he could keep an eye on the pirates and make sure they didn't decide to come back and try attacking again. Once they were about halfway to the transport Darien hissed in Blethen's ear, "Walk slowly to your ship and do not look back."

He pulled the sword away from the pirate leader's neck and gave him a shove in the back. Blethen stumbled but quickly found his feet. He sent a swift look back at Darien but Darien wiggled his sword at the pirate in warning. With wide eyes Blethen hurried after his group of misfits. When there was no chance that any of them would be coming back Darien turned around to look at Mina and Kunzite with a grin on his face, letting his sword disappear behind his back.

Darien raised his eyebrows. Mina and Kunzite both had their guns directed at his chest. He let out a light chuckle. "Is something wrong?"

Mina glared heatedly at him. "End of the road Hino," she said. "You're getting off our ship. Immediately."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**'connecting the dots'**

Darien blinked. He eyed the guns a bit more warily. "Come again?"

"You heard the lady, Hino," replied Kunzite. "Ami will fetch your things for you, if you have anything, and you can stay right here."

Darien crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm a paying customer. May I ask why I'm being dumped in the middle of nowhere after a large upfront payment?"

At that moment they were interrupted by Ami and Shingo dragging one of the bodies out of the cargo hold and down the ramp. When they had dumped him off the side of the ramp they straightened and stared in shock at the sight in front of them. Darien was keeping count in his head. One body out, still three more inside. That gave him time to stall. There was no way he was going to let them leave him here on this godforsaken piece of rock.

"What in the 'verse is going on here?" cried out Shingo.

Kunzite turned his head to look at them. "There are three more bodies in the hold," he barked. "Deal with them."

Ami put her head down and hurried back up the ramp but Shingo held his ground. "I want to know what the hell you think you're doing first, turning your guns on our passenger."

"That wasn't a request Shingo." When Shingo still didn't budge Kunzite frowned. "I'm still captain of this ship Tsukino and you will do as I say. So when I tell you to get rid of the dead bodies in our cargo bay, you damn well get rid of them."

Darien tilted his head to the side and smirked. This was even more interesting than when he overheard Shingo standing up to Mina the other night after dinner. Shingo glared at both Kunzite and Mina for a moment longer before shrugging and following Ami back into the cargo hold. "Something amusing Hino?" Mina asked. She hadn't moved her eyes once from Darien as the exchange between her cousin and Kunzite took place.

"No, nothing at all." Darien shifted on his feet and placed his hands in his pocket. "You didn't answer my question, you know."

"You want to know why I want you off the Ice Chamber? It's because you're a Wielder. I should hand you over to the coppers right now for Sedition."

"You're bloody kidding right? You won't hand me over to the police. Because you know that I'd turn you in within a heartbeat as well. You're not going to risk that."

Mina smiled innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please," scoffed Darien. "Don't try to deny it. You think I couldn't feel it when you sent those electric shocks through those men? The proof of your magic is right in front of our eyes." He gestured towards the dead body in the dirt. Kunzite had again trained his gun at Darien and was scowling. Darien decided to pull out his trump card. "Besides you don't want the cops or the government anywhere near you because of Serena and what she's capable of."

He saw Mina's hands shake slightly at that but her face remained unchanged. "Again, I will say it - I don't know what you are talking about."

"I think you do." Darien took a few steps forward but stopped when Kunzite pulled back the trigger on his gun. "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about." At that point Darien saw Shingo and Ami bring out the second body and again they paused to listen to what was going on. He continued speaking, "About the things Serena can do and about the visions she has and about the people looking for her."

He could see Shingo shaking his head in the background trying to get him to stop. Shingo needn't have worried. Darien could see his words were having the effect he had aimed for and so he had no need to say anything else or break the trust that Shingo and Ami had in him. Mina's eyes had widened dramatically and her pistol had dropped back to her side. Kunzite was gripping his gun tighter. Darien could see the captain's knuckles turn white he was clutching the gun so hard.

"How do you know that?" Mina whispered fearfully.

"She talks to me remember?" Darien glanced over at Kunzite again. "Maybe you should lower the gun Kunz."

"Don't freakin' call me Kunz!" he replied through gritted teeth.

Mina placed a hand on Kunzite's arm. "Put it down Mal," she murmured. To Darien she said, "What do you want from me?"

Darien shrugged. "All I want is to get back to Alintarouge with no more problems. No cops, no pirates, nothing." He sighed. "Look Mina, we're both in the same boat here, excuse the pun. You're trying to hide from the government and I'd rather they had no idea where I was either. I suggest that we simply try to co-exist for the next few days and then you won't have to deal with me again. Do you agree?" Darien held out his hand for her to shake.

Mina just looked at his hand, unsure of what to do. She could feel everyone's eyes watching her, waiting for her decision. Darien didn't move his eyes from hers as he murmured, "Believe me, I don't want to see Serena get hurt anymore than you do."

Mina could see the sincerity in his eyes and so she sighed in resignation. She placed her hand in Darien's and gripped it tightly. "I agree."

"Okay, then," said Kunzite to break the tension. He placed his gun back in its holder and levelled his stare at Darien. "We might be agreed and all, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable if you went in first. I'm sure you can understand."

Darien raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. When Kunzite stepped to the side Darien walked up the ramp and slung an arm over Shingo's shoulders. "Come on Shingo," he said blithely, as if nothing at all had just occurred. "I'll help you get rid of those corpses so we can get off this damn planet."

Mina and Kunzite watched as Darien stepped back inside the ship with Shingo and Ami. Kunzite glowered and crossed his arms. "I don't trust him," he muttered.

"I know," replied Mina. "Neither do I. But he'll be gone in a few days and then we can forget that he ever existed. We just need to get through these next couple of days." Mina closed her eyes again and sighed again before straightening her shoulders. "Let's go. I don't like this place. Who knows who else might be around here somewhere."

Together they walked back up the ramp and into their ship as Darien and Shingo threw another body to the dusty ground.

***

Lita yawned and stretched her arms above her head as she walked toward the cockpit. She had just woken up and, thinking that Artemis was probably still sleeping, decided to check on the autopilot. She was surprised to find Artemis still in his pilot's chair and looking as if he hadn't slept at all. "Artie what are you doing here?" Lita asked, sitting down in the chair next to him. "Why didn't you put the old girl on auto and go to bed?"

Artemis stifled a yawn and pointed to the radar screen. Lita noticed that there were two dots on it rather than the single one (representing the Makoto) that was usually there. "We're being followed," he stated bluntly. "It appeared about an hour after dinner last night."

"What?" Lita screeched. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

Artemis glanced over at her and sighed. "You needed sleep Lita. I can see that you're exhausted. And everything that's been happening is just draining you. I wanted to see if I could find out anything before I told you about the other ship."

Lita sighed, but knew it would useless trying to deny what Artemis had said. He had watched her grow up and knew her too well. "So did you find any info?"

"Nothing. It won't come close enough for me to get any sort of read on it."

"You've got suspicions though." Lita could hear it in his voice that there was more that Artemis wasn't saying. Artemis just looked at her with his serious eyes. Lita's own eyes widened as she realised what he wasn't saying. "You think its more agents like the ones that attacked Reika and Chad," she stated flatly.

"I do," Artemis nodded.

Lita frowned and stared out the windshield at the vast, empty universe. "Why haven't they attacked yet?" she muttered. "Why are they keeping their distance?"

"I think they're waiting for us to land," replied Artemis. "They probably think it will be easier to get Reika and Greg alive when we're world-side, rather than risking the possibility of killing them by shooting us down."

Lita glanced at him, worried. "You think they know Greg is onboard as well? That we have more than just the one Rainbow Crystal they went after before?"

"It wouldn't surprise me if they know about all three Rainbow Crystals that are on the ship. From what Greg has said, they seem to know everything that's going on. They must have some way of tracking who the Crystals reside in."

Lita sighed and bit her lip. She needed to think. Artemis glanced over at her as she started tapping her fingers against the console. With a decisive nod, Lita turned to meet the blond man's eyes. They were almost at Lulacrest but the cargo wasn't due to arrive there for almost two weeks. They could finish another job first that would keep them flying and off-world for longer. "Change the co-ordinates Artemis. We're going to Alintarouge first. At least that will give us another three days before we have to land. We can figure out a plan of action in that time and maybe even find out something about who it is that's following us."

Artemis hesitated but then, seeing the steel in Lita's eyes, typed in the new co-ordinates and set the Makoto onto autopilot. He wasn't sure this was the right thing to do but at the same time they had no other options at this point. He had to trust Lita. She had never steered them wrong before and he was sure that she would get them all through this as well. With a tired groan Artemis pushed himself out of his seat and dropped a kiss on the top of Lita's head. "I'm going to get some sleep," he said.

"Good," Lita replied. "Because no offense A-man, but you look terrible."

As Artemis rolled his eyes at her teasing and left the cockpit, Lita glanced down at the radar screen. The second dot was still there, taunting her with the threat it represented. She frowned and stared out into the black of space. They had three days to decide what they would do.

***

Reika pulled out her mobile and dialled a familiar number. She just hoped Andrew would pick up. She had been speaking to Greg that morning and he had explained everything that was happening. And now she desperately needed to talk to her fiancé. Reika had always teased him mercilessly about being a conspiracy nut but now she had a feeling that he was the only one that might have some idea of what was going on. He was possibly the only one that could help her and the rest of the Makoto crew at this point.

Reika smiled in relief as Andrew picked up and she saw his face appear on the screen. "Hey darling," he said, with his trademark grin. "How are you?"

Reika's smile dropped as she stared at him seriously. "Are you alone?" she asked. "There's something important that I need to tell you about."

Andrew frowned. "I'm actually at work. Can it wait until later?" She shook her head. She saw Andrew glance around him and then say, "Just hang on, okay? I'll go on break and call you back in five minutes."

"Okay." Reika hung up and immediately began pacing in her cabin. She nervously played with her mobile, turning it over and over in her hands, as she counted the seconds before Andrew would call back. Reika immediately pressed the accept button as soon as the mobile began to ring. "Andrew?" she asked anxiously.

"It's me Reika," he replied. "What's wrong?"

She bit her lip. "Are you certain you're alone, that no one can overhear?"

"Honey, I'm positive." Andrew was really worried now. What was Reika so scared about?

"Andrew, have you heard of some things called the Rainbow Crystals?"

Andrew's expression immediately clouded over and then went completely blank. "Where did you hear about those?" he asked, keeping all emotion out of his voice.

"So you have heard about them." Andrew didn't reply, so Reika continued. "We were attacked, Chad and me, by people that are looking for Rainbow Crystals. Apparently, I have one-"

Andrew's eyes widened and he immediately cut her off. "Don't say anything else." He glanced around furtively before continuing in a hurried whisper, "It's not safe to discuss this on mobiles." His forehead creased as Andrew's concern for Reika steadily increased. "Are you okay? Were you hurt?"

"I'm fine. I was a little injured but Greg and Artemis fixed me up." So maybe it was a bit more than just a little injured, but what Andrew didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

He frowned. "Please tell me you're coming home."

Reika nodded. "I spoke to Lita not long ago and she said that we're changing course and heading to Alintarouge. We'll be there in three days." She kept the other fact, that the Makoto was being followed, to herself. Andrew didn't need to worry about her anymore than he obviously already was.

"Good." Andrew released a sigh. "I'll explain everything when you get here. Until then, please stay safe."

"I will, I promise." She pasted on a bright smile in an attempt to reassure her fiancé.

"Okay." Andrew didn't look happy but he was resigned to the fact that there was little he could do for now. "I have to get back to work before anyone gets suspicious, but call me if anything else happens. I love you."

"Love you too." Reika waved and then ended the connection. She frowned at the mobile as the screen went blank.

***

Mina wiped a hand across her sweaty forehead as she walked towards the bunk she shared with Kunzite. She had been working down in the engines again. There were a few pieces that would definitely need to be replaced once they got to Alintarouge. Once they dumped the cargo and got paid she was headed straight for a junkyard to find a better radiator. The engines were really starting to overheat far too often recently.

Mina paused as she came across Serena writing on the walls again. A sad smile pulled at her lips as Mina watched her cousin. She wished there was some way that she could help Serena, to turn her back into the innocent carefree girl she had once been. Back before Uncle Kenji and Aunty Ikuko had been burned and before Serena was kidnapped and before Shingo was left to starve on the streets.

She sighed and stepped behind Serena. There was a very intricate drawing of a shrine situated within a city on the wall. The sketch was encircled by three dots connected by lines. "Hey Serena," Mina began softly. "What are you drawing?"

Serena's answer was succinct and her eyes never wavered from the picture on the metal. "Alintarouge."

Mina blinked in surprise. "Alintarouge? Why are you drawing that?" Her brows drew together in thought. "Is something going to happen there?"

Serena dropped her pen and used her finger to trace the circle one last time. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled enigmatically at her cousin. "It's all coming together."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**'****dixon'**

Rei was pleased when the transport touched down in Alintarouge and she could get off. She had never been a fan of space ships. She much preferred to keep her feet planted firmly on solid ground. After more than a day spent floating through space on board the ship, Rei was looking forward to getting back to the Shrine so she could take a long, relaxing bath and then fall into bed for a few hours.

As she was standing in line, waiting to get back through customs and into the city, Rei felt her mobile vibrating in the pocket of her skirt. She pulled it out and sighed as she recognised the number. 'Looks like that bath will have to wait a few more hours,' she thought.

Rei ended the call without answering. After a cautious glance around her to make certain that no one was watching, Rei penned a quick message and sent it back to the same number. It looked like she would be off to see Andrew sooner than planned. And he hadn't even given her time to go through the files first. Damn him. 'Hope Andrew doesn't mind that I stink,' Rei smirked at the thought.

Once she was through customs and officially back into Alintarouge, Rei walked away from the transport docks and was deep into the city before she took the chance to duck into a deserted alleyway. Rei had hoped that Darien would get in touch with her again but he still hadn't called a second time. She was getting worried about him again. Rei looked over towards the entrance to the alley, making sure no one was about to come in after her, as she scrolled through the calls list on her mobile. She knew that she still had the code signature saved from when Darien had phoned her from that ship he was currently travelling on.

Taking a deep breath, Rei pressed call, and held the mobile up in front of her so she could see the viewscreen. She just hoped that Darien would be the one to answer the call. A few moments later the call connected and an image popped up on the viewscreen. But it wasn't Darien.

There was a girl with blue hair staring back at Rei. She didn't look very old, maybe around the same age as Rei herself, but there was something in her eyes that suggested that she had seen her fair share of sorrow. Rei could see unshed tears hiding behind the icy blue of this girl's eyes. Rei steeled up her psychic barriers. She could sense a great sadness within this young woman and did not have the time for that sorrow to overwhelm her psyche.

Rei smiled pleasantly and politely, only to receive a small but suspicious smile in return. "Hello, my name is Raelene Hino," she began pleasantly. "Mamoru's cousin. He called me from this number a few days, and I was hoping that perhaps he was still onboard?"

The girl looked confused for a moment. "Mamoru?" She frowned, but then her expression cleared. "Oh, do you mean Darien Hino?"

Rei's smiled widened slightly. "Of course, you would know him as Darien, I'm sorry. Mamoru is a childhood nickname." She chuckled, still trying to remain polite and carefree, as if nothing was wrong. The blue-haired woman still had a cautious air about her, and Rei hoped the laughter might put her slightly more at ease. "Bad habit, you know."

The young woman nodded. "He is still here," she replied. "I think he might be in the galley, I'll just see if I can find him for you."

The girl had disappeared from the viewscreen before Rei could say anything else. For a few minutes all she could see was an empty room lined with shelves and a table on the side facing the viewscreen. And then, all of a sudden, Darien walked into view with the blue-haired girl beside him, still looking cautious about the whole situation. The girl leaned towards Darien and whispered something, probably making sure that he did actually know Rei.

Rei watched as Darien smiled and nodded before saying loud enough for Rei to overhear, "Do you remember my first night onboard and Serena drew that sketch of my cousin?"

The young woman next to him nodded hesitantly.

"Well, this is that cousin," Darien continued, nodding towards the viewscreen.

Rei cleared her throat at that point. "Do you think you could start speaking to me, instead of just about me, cousin of mine?" she commented caustically.

The girl blinked in surprise at the sudden shift in tone from Rei. She smiled tentatively at Rei (apparently still worried about something to do with the call, though Rei really couldn't fathom what the problem could be now that Darien had reassured her that everything was okay) and nodded to Darien before leaving the room to give the cousins some privacy.

Darien kept the smile on his face until he was sure that Ami was out of hearing range before turning serious eyes on Rei. "You shouldn't have called me," he said softly.

Rei scoffed. "And why not?"

"Because it is not safe," he hissed.

Rei raised an eyebrow. "That blue-haired girl," she said, "I did not sense that she was untrustworthy."

"That was Ami. She's not the problem." Darien shook his head and lowered his voice further, glancing behind him furtively. "There are others on the ship that do not like or trust me. They wouldn't be happy to see me talking to an outsider. I mean, I could deal with them sure but I'd really rather avoid all the hassle."

Rei rolled her eyes. How typical of Darien. "Look I just wanted to let you know that I'm back in Alintarouge-"

"What do you mean, _back_ in Alintarouge?" he cut in. "That's where you were last time I checked. And that's where I had thought you still were, safe and out of harm's way."

Rei could feel annoyance building up inside her, but decided to let the comment slide. There were other things to deal with at this point. "I had to take a little trip to the capital." She quickly glanced around herself again. She thought she had heard footsteps but there didn't seem to be anyone close by. When Rei looked back to the viewscreen on her mobile it was to find Darien was frowning at her. "Just wanted to let you know, I found the treasure. On my way to see Toki now."

Darien looked astonished. Good. It was about time he properly realised that she wasn't a little girl anymore. "_What-_" he began but stopped himself. He turned sharply to look behind him. From what Rei could make out, it sounded like someone was calling him. Darien looked back at her, appearing slightly guilty but still with that old cheeky smile that she knew so well from childhood, and yelped, "Got to go!"

The next second the viewscreen went blank as the call was disconnected. Rei blinked in surprise but then shrugged it off. Regardless of whatever was happening on that ship Darien would be able to take care of himself. And if he couldn't, then she would have to kill him the next time she saw him. Even if he was dead already, in which case she would bring him back to life and then kill him again.

Rei frowned as she heard footsteps close by again. She spun around and looked deep into the alley. It was only early afternoon, so she had plenty of light to see a long way down it. There was definitely no one there, either in the close vicinity or a long way off. Rei was confused. So where were the footsteps coming from? She scanned the entire alleyway again but still could not figure it out. She shook her head and made her way to the alley entrance. Glancing hastily to both sides, Rei casually slipped back into the crowds of people lining the streets. She continued to make her way towards the normal meeting spot.

She wasn't even halfway there before she began to feel uneasy. Rei had the unsettling feeling that she was being watched. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising. She had a very bad feeling that she was being followed as well. She ducked into a nearby caffeine house and seated herself beside the window, where she could see both the entire inside of the shop and outside to the street. She wanted to know exactly who was going where.

Rei pulled out her mobile as her eyes swiftly scanned her surroundings. She typed a message to Andrew. Hopefully, he hadn't reached the meeting point yet, and he could backtrack without being noticed. _Toki, am feeling weary. Heading home for some sleep. Hope you're well and will see you soon, Raelene._

Rei didn't trust that she was the only one being followed right now. Of course, it could very well be her father that had sent someone to tail her. It was exactly the sort of thing Takahashi would do. Especially since she had, only yesterday, been inside his office without his permission. But at the same time she couldn't take that chance.

A waitress approached Rei's table. "Order, miss?"

"Chocolate milk with caffeine please," she answered, still watching her mobile and waiting for Andrew's reply. "And with a dash of moonshine too, if you could."

"Coming right up miss."

Rei smiled politely at the waitress as she left to fill her order. She jumped slightly and looked back to her mobile as it beeped with an incoming message. Rei clicked the button and sighed in relief as she read the message. _Tomorrow then. Sleep well, T. _

Good, that meant Andrew was on his way back to work. Rei could only hope that he made it back there, and later back home, safely. She didn't want to think it but maybe she was getting paranoid. No doubt the top secret files that were contained on the hard drive hidden in her bag were making her feel more jumpy and more cautious than usual. But it didn't hurt to take just a little bit more care today. They couldn't afford to let what she had found (though she still wasn't certain quite what it was that she had found yet – Rei just knew it was definitely something) on Takahashi's persocomp fall into the wrong hands.

She sat back and affected a relaxed air as the waitress brought her drink back. Rei grinned as she took a sip. It was the perfect combination of what she needed right now: sugar to keep her spirits up, caffeine to stay awake after the long journey and keep her energy levels high, and the extra bite she could feel from the moonshine as it slipped down her throat would keep her alert. Rei had a feeling she would need her wits about her very soon.

She let her psychic barriers drop slightly so that she could get a better sense of what was going on around her. She had already ascertained that there was no threat within the caffeine house, so as she took another sip of her cocktail Rei turned to stare idly out the window. Or at least that was how it would appear to anyone that glanced at her. To any casual observer, Rei would simply look like she was staring into space, and not at anything in particular.

But as she looked out the window sipping her drink, Rei was actually analysing every person that passed, both visually and psychically. She didn't pick up anything until a tall man in a suit passed by. Rei didn't think it was anything at first, he had barely made a blip on her psychic radar.

It was only when he doubled back five minutes later that she started to pay attention to him. His hair was a warm blond, his face thin and sculpted – like one of those Ancient Greek statues from Terra that Rei had once seen in a museum. It was his eyes that gave him away – constantly darting around, taking in everything around him. The most impressive thing about him was the suit he was wearing: it was perfectly cut, with sharp lines that accentuated his shoulders and narrow hips. Obviously very finely made by the best of tailors and even more obviously, very expensive.

And this time Rei's psychic radar was blaring at her. The man was obviously looking for something, and Rei had a very good idea that that something was her. She wasn't sure, but this man definitely fit the bill of government agent. It was the most likely option from his appearance, and from the hint of arrogant disdain coupled with desire for power that she felt within his subconscious. What Rei couldn't be sure of though was whether he was working for Takahashi, or someone else.

At least if it was Takahashi, then they knew who they would be dealing with, who the enemy was. But if it was someone else, then they could have real trouble. An unknown brought in more problems and complications than someone they were already aware of. And unfortunately there was only one way to find out.

Rei downed the last of her drink, and left some cash sitting next to her empty glass. She stepped outside and immediately spotted the man ahead of her, walking back the way they had previously come. It looked as if he was retracing his steps, trying to figure out where it was that he had lost sight of Rei, and could possibly pick up the trail again from there.

Rei followed the man carefully, always letting him stay five metres ahead but still constantly in her line of sight. It was only when he stopped and was looking around himself in confusion that Rei approached him and stopped just behind his shoulder. "Looking for me?" she asked pleasantly.

He jumped slightly and spun around. "Yes, actually," he replied. He was looking slightly surprised that she had approached him.

"I take it my father sent you to follow me?"

"Um, yes." The man frowned at her, an angry glint entering his eyes. "What do you think you're doing coming up to me like this? What if I had been following you in order to kill you?"

Rei blinked. "And you're saying you're not. My father is having me followed, after I essentially broke into his office, but he doesn't want me killed? Does he have some other agenda in which he thinks I might still be useful?"

The man grabbed her arm and pulled her down the street, and then into the same alleyway that Rei had ducked into previously. As soon as they were away from the crowd Rei pulled her arm out of the man's grip and backed away, immediately on the defence. "Look Miss Hino," he began, holding his hands up to show he wasn't going to attack her, "I was sent here by your father yes, but it was because I volunteered for the job. I wanted to make sure that you and the information you currently carry made it back here safely."

"What information?"

He sighed and leaned against the building wall behind him. "The secret files about Project: Ginzuishou."

Rei frowned, attempting to look confused, and crossed her arms. "Project: Ginzuishou? What's that?"

The man smirked, now feeling very relaxed. "My name is Zachary Dickenson, though perhaps you know me better as Dixon."

"_You're _Dixon?" Rei was incredulous. "You work for the government, hells, you work for my father!"

"Putting me in the perfect position as a spy." Zachary tilted his head up slightly. "How else do you think I got that tip to give to your friend Andrew?"

Rei narrowed her eyes at him. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Zachary shrugged. "Well, you can either believe me or you can't. I guess it's up to you whether you want to or not."

She eyed him suspiciously. Closing her eyes, Rei pulled down her psychic barriers and opened her mind. Carefully she reached out towards Zachary's psyche and started to probe slightly. She could feel the desire for power and the disdain that she had sensed before, but now that she was looking carefully she could sense that these were fabricated emotions. There was nothing else suspicious on the surface so Rei started to go a little deeper. She carefully stepped through barriers built by isolation and deceit, to the truth within. She smiled slightly, cautiously disentangled her mind so that she wouldn't hurt either of them, and then opened her eyes.

Zachary raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth hinting at another smirk. "Any problems, Miss Hino?" he asked.

"No," Rei shook her head. "I trust you."

"Good." His eyes glinted as he pushed himself away from the wall and stepped closer to her. "So, can I see it?"

"See what?" Zachary raised his eyebrows slightly and Rei narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, you mean the hard drive with the files." Rei shook her head. "No. I don't trust you that much yet."

Rei tilted her head up as she noticed that the alleyway had suddenly darkened. Large purple clouds had amassed overhead. She breathed in deeply, and could smell the rain coming closer. She frowned. "Come on," she said. "It looks like there's a storm about to hit. I'd like to get home before that happens."

Zachary glanced up at the sky as well. He began to move towards the entrance to the alley, but paused when he realised that Rei wasn't following. "Well? Aren't you coming? You just said you wanted to get home. So let's go."

"You're not coming home with me," Rei retorted.

"And why not?"

"Because I don't want you to know where I live."

"I already do."

Rei huffed. "What are you, a stalker?"

"Yes."

She blinked. "Come again?"

"I'm a stalker. What did you think I was doing ten minutes ago? I was stalking you, idiot girl." Zachary rolled his eyes. "And I thought you were meant to be the smart one," he muttered to himself.

Rei huffed. "I still don't want you coming home with me."

Zachary folded his arms and sighed. "Again, I ask why not?"

"Because... because..." Rei paused as she tried to think of a good reason why he shouldn't come with her.

"You can't even think of a reason, can you?" Zachary chuckled, derisively. "Look, your father sent me to follow you. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't do exactly that. Besides, even if you leave without me, I'll just follow you back to the Hikawa Shrine anyway."

She groaned. "Ugh, fine," she ground out. "If you must."

Thunder suddenly rumbled overhead. Rei noticed that it was progressively getting darker, and the clouds were getting heavier. She eyed the sky nervously, and then walked past Zachary into the street. It was just as she turned to the right in order to walk to the closest cab rank that she felt the first drop of rain fall onto her bare shoulder.

Thunder rumbled again and lightning cracked through the now dark afternoon. Zachary stepped up next to Rei and grabbed her hand. He tugged slightly as the sky opened up and the rain started coming down in large drops. Together they started to run as the rain became heavier. It was quickly pelting down.

The streets quickly emptied as people ducked into shops and caffeine houses in an attempt to escape the early summer storm. "We need to find a cab," Rei shouted over the wind that was picking up speed.

"Not necessary!" Zachary yelled back, before dragging her down a small street and into a tiny, dirty-looking pub.

Rei paused in the doorway as Zachary dropped her hand and stepped away from her so that he could shake some of the water out of his hair. Rei glanced over at him as he stripped off his drenched suit jacket. She couldn't help but notice how well defined his torso appeared to be through his damp white shirt.

She could feel her cheeks reddening so immediately turned away. She wrapped her hands around her wet, black hair and tried to squeeze out the excess water. She did not find him attractive, Rei asserted to herself. Not at all. Zachary Dickenson was rude. And smirked too much. And certainly did not have a very nice body.

Rei jumped when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's get a drink," said Zachary. "We might as well wait out the storm in here."

She moved over to the nearest empty table (of which there were many in this dingy, dark, little pub) and collapsed into a chair. "I guess so." Rei slipped her bag off her shoulder and placed it on the chair next to her. Suddenly she felt incredibly tired. She slumped down further into the chair and rested her neck against the back rung.

Rei only realised that she had let her eyes slip closed when she heard a glass being set down in front of her. She eyed the drink curiously.

"It's a pint," Zachary explained.

"A pint?"

"Of beer." He suddenly frowned slightly. "You are of legal age aren't you?"

Rei rolled her eyes. "Yes, I can legally drink, no need to worry about that." She picked it up and had a small sip. She crinkled her nose up immediately at the taste.

Zachary smirked at Rei's expression. "It is something of an acquired taste," he chuckled. "Can sometimes take a while to get used to." Zachary picked up his own pint and took a drink before nodding towards Rei's glass. "Go on," he encouraged her. "The more you drink, the more you'll like it."

Rei didn't really believe him but she kept drinking anyway. At the very least, it was the polite thing to do since he had bought it for her.

It was only as that thought passed through her head that Rei realised Zachary could have done anything to it. What if he had drugged her? He could have added anything to it without her knowledge while her eyes had been closed.

Zachary shook his head in amusement as he noticed that she had stopped drinking. He could easily read the thoughts passing through her mind. "I didn't poison it, you know," he commented, his voice tinged with his amusement.

Rei turned her nose up, pretending she had never thought anything of the kind. "I didn't think you did," she replied.

"Yeah, you did." Zachary smirked. "I don't blame you. You might have prodded around inside my mind, but it's not like you saw everything that's in there. For all you know, I could have hidden plenty from you."

Rei's eyes widened in shock. "You actually felt me when I was probing your psyche? You knew what I was doing?"

"Of course. I know about your powers Rei."

She felt a shiver go through her as Zachary said her name for the first time. She instantly pushed the feeling aside. That shiver didn't mean anything. "How?" Rei asked, feeling suspicious once more. "Not even Andrew knows about my abilities."

Her eyes widened as another thought occurred to her. "Oh gods. Does Takahashi know?"

"No." Zachary was quick to reassure her. "I never told him about what you could do."

"Thank the gods for that," Rei muttered to herself. She glared across the table at Zachary. "That still doesn't explain how you know though."

Zachary glanced casually around the pub as he set his now empty glass back on the table. Once he was sure no one was watching them, he swiftly flicked his wrist to the right.

Rei felt a small breeze pass by her and then the glass shifted a few centimetres to the right, as if by itself. She looked back up to Zachary. "You can?" She didn't need to finish the question, as Zachary was already nodding.

"I can."

"So you sensed what I was about to do before I did it," Rei surmised.

"Not exactly. I had an idea what you were going to do, but I didn't sense anything at all until you let down your barriers." The corner of his mouth tilted up in admiration. "They're very strong. Not even someone magical would be able to sense your abilities while you keep them up. Very impressive."

"Thank you." Rei was still feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the sudden revelations.

She finished off her pint and then stood up. "I think I need something a bit stronger, to take all this in," Rei remarked.

Zachary didn't protest as she moved around the table and stepped over to the bar. He sat still, observing Rei's empty chair and contemplating all that had occurred in the last hour. He blinked and glanced up when she returned.

He smirked when she plonked a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses down in the middle of the table. "Why, Rei Hino," drawled Zachary, "are you trying to get me drunk? Perhaps to seduce me?"

Rei could hear the sensuality laced through his tone. "The way you're talking, I think you're trying to seduce me." She shot him a contemptuous look before sitting carefully back down in her seat.

"What, no lemon, no salt?"

"Nope."

"You certainly are courageous aren't you?"

"It's my middle name. What's yours?"

"Drunken stupidity." Zachary reached over the table, picked up the tequila bottle and unscrewed the cap. Rei turned the shot glasses over and looked back up at him, daring him with her eyes to pour.

Zachary shrugged. "Your funeral, Miss Hino." He poured out two generous shots.

Rei smirked as she picked hers up. "Actually I think it might be yours, Mr Dickenson."

* * *

An hour later Rei was regretting her impulsive decision to drink. She groaned and dropped her head onto the table. She was quickly remembering why the only alcohol she ever drank anymore was an occasional dash of moonshine in her caffeine. Her head was pounding – not from the alcohol itself but from the lowering of her psychic barriers. For some reason, an excess of alcohol always prohibited Rei from raising her mental shields. There were feelings and thoughts all hammering into her from all directions, and just then she couldn't stop them.

Zachary leant back in his seat, feeling pleasantly buzzed. Of course he knew better than to get drunk with pretty girls when there were more important things afoot, but he just hadn't been able to resist when presented with the opportunity. He knew that his abilities would be affected – he probably wouldn't be able to control them if he tried to use them any time soon.

Zachary glanced down at Rei sympathetically. She was still lying half-sprawled across their table clutching her head; her eyes squeezed shut in agony.

"I need to get home," Rei managed to get out through gritted teeth.

Zachary nodded, even though Rei couldn't see him. He didn't like the idea of going back out into the city without his powers to fall back on should they be needed, but Rei was obviously in worse straits than he was right then. At least the storm had worn itself out and passed away, so they wouldn't get wet again.

He reached across and gently touched Rei's shoulder. "Can you stand up?" asked Zachary.

"I think so," Rei murmured as she carefully sat up. She slowly pulled her handbag back onto her shoulder, always keeping on hand pressed to her temple.

They walked out of the pub, back into the dingy avenue and began to slowly make their way back to the main road. Zachary glanced up at the sky; the rain had stopped but the clouds above them were still dark and threatening another storm. It was only when he felt Rei stumble beside him that Zachary moved his gaze back to his more immediate surroundings.

He stepped closer and placed a hand on her back, intending to lend her some support as they walked, but Rei immediately shrugged him off. "I can walk just fine by myself," she muttered, stalking ahead.

She had barely gone five steps in her anger though before slowing down and pressing her other hand to the other side of her head. Rei's head was throbbing worse than ever the closer she got to the likely once-more crowded street. More and more people were steadily trying to press into her mind and it was taking all her strength to keep herself upright.

Rei felt a sudden wave crash in against her as she stepped onto the main street and was immediately swallowed up by people. Her hands dropped to her sides and her knees buckled as Rei's body began to collapse, no longer able to support her under the immense weight of every person's psyche.

Zachary was quick to catch her, grabbing Rei around the waist before she could completely fall to the ground. He caught sight of her face as he picked her up into his arms – Rei was incredibly pale with sweat running in rivulets down her neck, and barely able to hold her eyes open as her head dropped to Zachary's shoulder. Now he was really worried.

He could see her handbag slipping from her shoulder and tried to grab it without dropping Rei. Struggling to keep his grip on the dark-haired girl in his arms, Zachary managed to grab her bag as it fell to her elbow, just within reach of one of his hands. They couldn't afford to lose it now, considering the incriminating evidence hidden inside it.

"Get me to the temple," she managed to force out in a raspy whisper. "And whatever you do," Rei had to pause and take another shaky breath, "don't lose the hard drive."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**'hikawa shrine'**

Lita walked up to the cockpit, looking for Artemis and Luna. She found them both leaning over the radar screen. "What are you looking at?" she asked. "Is the tracking ship still there?"

Artemis leaned back in his seat and frowned over his shoulder at her. "No."

"Pardon?"

Luna turned around. "We're the only ship currently on the radar," she answered.

Lita's brows contracted in confusion and she glanced over at Artemis, who had returned his thoughtful gaze to the screen. "Artemis? What do you think that means?"

He rubbed a hand across his forehead before sighing. "I'm not sure," he said. "But I don't think it can be good. We're only a few hours out of Alintarouge. For the tracker to suddenly disappear now…" Artemis shook his head. "It doesn't bode well."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Luna added. "They're obviously planning something."

"Mum, Dad!" The three adults spun around to face the door on hearing Hotaru's excited voice. There was a bright grin on her young face.

"What is it sweetie?" Luna asked.

"You won't believe it! I just perfected that new move you've been trying to teach me, Mum."

Luna smiled softly and raised her eyebrows at her daughter. "You're right, I don't believe you." She winked, and then said, "You'll have to show me."

Luna glanced over her shoulder and shared a serious look with Artemis and Lita, before turning back to Hotaru and said, "Lead the way."

Hotaru looked past Luna to her father. "Dad, you have to come too. You've got to see this."

Artemis was about to object but Lita pulled him to his feet. "Go." She nodded towards the door. "I'll keep an eye on things here."

Hotaru grinned and skipped back out of the cockpit, Luna following slowly behind her. Lita stopped Artemis before he left as well. "A-man, could you tell everyone that we'll be landing soon? Also, tell them to meet me in the galley in half an hour. I need to prepare them for what might happen once we reach world-side." Lita sighed. "That tracker ship could very well be there already, just waiting for us to arrive in order to put their plan into motion."

Artemis nodded and then left. Sitting down in the seat Artemis had vacated, Lita lovingly ran her hands across the controls. "Well, old girl," she said to her ship, "let's just hope we all survive this in one piece."

* * *

Darien glanced around his bunk to make sure he hadn't left anything behind. His mobile was in his pocket, his wallet and various forms of identification were tucked away in his jacket. He hadn't brought anything else with him, except for the small back pack that contained a couple of extra shirts, and a clean pair of pants.

Ever since the incident with the pirates, Darien had mostly kept to his bunk in hopes that he could avoid angering Mina and Kunzite anymore than he already had. They were already too suspicious of him, and they certainly disliked him. He didn't need them poking around in his affairs, or learning anything about him they didn't need to know.

It had occurred to Darien just what a dangerous position he had fallen into since stepping aboard the Ice Chamber. He was almost positive that in Serena he had found what he had been searching for, over the last five years. And yet, since meeting her, he had only found more questions than answers.

Mina had come to see him in his bunk earlier, to inform him that they were almost at Alintarouge. She had hesitated after giving him the message, almost as if she had wanted to say something else. She had looked almost vulnerable in that moment. But then Mina had shaken her head and walked out without another word.

Darien let out a breath and lay down on the bed. He wasn't sure how exactly he was going to get off this ship. After everything that happened recently and everything he had seen, he didn't know how he was going to walk away and not look back. Especially since he knew who and what Serena was.

He groaned and rolled onto his side. Serena. There was his problem in a nutshell. There was something about her that drew Darien to her. The more he found out about her, the more he wanted to know. Whenever he looked in her eyes, Darien could see a whole other world there. It scared him a little, the way he had been feeling since meeting the strange, beautiful girl. He'd even started dreaming about her.

For kami's sake, he had been only moments away from kissing Serena the other day. If Kunzite hadn't interrupted them, then Darien would have kissed her.

Serena was the other reason why Darien had exiled himself to his bunk. He was afraid that if he spent anymore time with Serena, if he continued to let his feelings grow as they had been, then he wouldn't be able to leave. Darien was afraid that he wouldn't be able to walk away the way he would have to when they reached Alintarouge in just over an hour.

Darien sat up and tried to stop the flow of his thoughts as a tentative knock sounded against his door. "Come in," he called wearily.

He glanced up as the door slid open, and was stunned to see Serena standing there. "Um," Darien stammered, lost for words. He stood up and waved for Serena to come in.

Her eyes moved hesitantly around the bunk before stepping inside. Darien backed up and leaned against the desk behind him, trying to put some extra room between himself and Serena. Was it just him, or did the bunk suddenly seem a lot smaller than it had been before?

Serena looked around at the bare room before turning her eyes to Tuxedo Mask. "You're leaving," she stated simply.

Darien nodded. Her face was expressionless so he couldn't guess at what she might be thinking. He thought her eyes looked a little sad though.

Serena tilted her head to the side, still gazing into Darien's eyes. It was as if she was analysing something, or perhaps trying to figure something out. She suddenly straightened her neck and nodded to herself, apparently having reached a decision. Serena stepped forward and, without giving Darien a chance to protest, she rose up onto her bare toes, placed her small hands on his shoulders and kissed him.

Her lips were soft and dry against his own. Darien clenched his fingers around the edge of the desk. 'Don't touch her,' he thought, even as his eyes slipped closed. 'If you do, you'll never let go.'

Darien felt the pressure from Serena's lips disappear and opened his eyes. She was watching him, waiting for a reaction. When Darien didn't say anything, her eyes dropped and she tried to move away. Serena had only moved back one step before Darien's fingers fell away from the table and his body followed hers.

Darien quickly slipped his hands around Serena's waist, holding her in place so she couldn't escape any further, and instantly lowered his lips to hers. Where their first kiss had been quiet and hesitant, this one was explosive. There were tongues and teeth and hands and lips everywhere, all in constant motion.

They both pulled away as their need for air increased. Darien gulped, his heart racing inside his chest, and pushed a strand of Serena's hair behind her ear. She was watching him with a small, satisfied smile stretched across her lips. Darien felt an answering smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He knew that he would never be able to leave Serena now. He would just have to find a way back onboard the ship once he had finished with things in Alintarouge.

* * *

Lita walked into the galley and was pleased to see that her entire crew was already assembled around the table. She moved to the head of it and sat down. She laced her fingers together on the table and studied them for a moment, hunched over, before raising her eyes to meet her crew's cautious gazes. Hotaru was biting a thumbnail, Reika was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, and Jed and Chad were both sitting back from the table, arms crossed and frowns marring their faces. Luna and Artemis, who already knew what was coming, were wearing matching expressions: worried and resigned, but determined at the same time.

The only one not looking back at Lita was Greg. He was staring thoughtfully down at the black crystal that he was absently twirling between his fingers. The same black crystal that had almost pulled Reika's Rainbow Crystal out of her. Lita wondered if he had had any success in figuring out its secrets.

She cleared her throat and began to speak. "There's something I haven't told you," Lita started off, "and perhaps I should have earlier. But either way, that doesn't really matter now." She closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath to prepare herself before continuing, "For the last couple of days the Makoto has been followed by an unknown ship. Always at a distance just outside of range so that we can't get a read on it."

There was an immediate shuffling around the table as Lita's crew reacted to her news. Before anyone could jump in to say anything, Lita raised a hand to calm them and said, "There's more. Only an hour ago, Artemis informed me that the ship has disappeared from our radar screen. And I'm going to be honest here: the fact that it's now gone worries me just as much as the fact that we were being tailed at all."

Chad immediately spoke up. "You said that you couldn't get a read on the ship. But I'm sure we're all thinking it." His eyes roved around the table. "It's government agents isn't it? That's the only thing it could be right?" Chad's gaze fell on Reika, who was staring down at the wood beneath her hands, still biting down on her lip. "Agents that are after Reika and Greg and Rhett."

Artemis nodded. "Yes, that's what we think the ship was."

Lita took over again. "I'm afraid that the disappearance means they've figured out where we're going, and they've already gone ahead to set a trap. All I hope is that they're not waiting at the docking yards, ready to grab us the very moment we hit land."

Lita glanced over at Greg. He was still lost in thought, and didn't appear to have heard anything that had been said so far. "Greg," she called to gain his attention. When he glanced up at her, Lita nodded her head towards the crystal in his hands. "How's it going with the crystal?"

With a huff, Greg dropped it to the table, shaking his head. "I had a vision the first time I stared into it," he confessed. "A young girl, trapped and being tortured."

"Tortured?" Luna questioned.

Greg shook his head slightly, feeling frustrated that he wasn't explaining this properly. "Well, not in the sense you would normally expect. She was trapped in a room with no windows or doors, and she had her hands pressed against her head, screaming out the words 'help me'. But it was more than that. When you're inside a vision you can feels things and understand things you normally wouldn't be able to. And so I was able to feel the way someone had tortured her brain. Her mind had been played with."

He paused to take a sip of his drink. No one said anything as they waited for Greg to continue. They all felt, though they could not have said why, that the vision Greg was describing to them was in some way very important. Greg tapped his fingers against the table, collecting his thoughts, and then continued, "There's something else to it as well. Before the vision actually started, when I was just looking at the crystal, the girl's image appeared inside the crystal. She had a finger against her lips, telling me to keep quiet." He paused and glanced around the table. "I think she somehow _sent_ that vision to me." Greg cleared his throat and then finished with, "But as for the crystal itself… I have no idea. I can't work it out; no matter how much time I spend examining it. And I keep hoping for another vision that might help to explain it, but I've had nothing."

"Who was she?" asked Jed.

Greg shrugged. "No idea. She was blonde, short hair, with blue eyes, but that's all I know."

Lita was thinking quickly. She didn't understand Greg's vision, and it was no doubt important, but they had more pressing matters as well. "We can try to analyse Greg's vision later. Right now we need to talk about what we're going to do when we land."

Reika raised her head at this point, her normally happy face now filled with anxiety. "I think you should all come speak to Andrew, my fiancé. He wouldn't explain anything to me over our mobiles, said it was too dangerous, but he knows something about what's going on. Andrew's heard of the Rainbow Crystals, I know that much. Maybe he can help us."

"Okay, that's a start," Lita nodded. "When he could he meet with us?"

Reika scratched her neck absently as she thought about it. "He'd be at work today," she began slowly. "But I could call him as soon as we're finished here, to let him know we're about to arrive in Alintarouge. We probably wouldn't be able to see him though until after he finished work for the day. It would look too suspicious for him if he were to just leave in the middle of the day to come meet us as soon as we landed."

"So we need to discuss what we are going to do as soon as we hit world-side," Luna commented. "If we're lucky, those agents won't be waiting for us at the docks. I think," she paused, glancing around at her crew mates, "and this will probably be an unpopular opinion, but I think we should split up once we reach Alintarouge."

"Mum, no!" Hotaru immediately shouted in protest. Every one else followed the teenager in voicing their concerns, but as they all spoke at once nothing could be discerned from what they said. Only Lita refrained from saying anything. She didn't like the idea, but she could see the benefits of it.

Luna stood up and slammed a hand down against the table. The galley immediately fell silent again. "Thank you," Luna said as she resumed her seat. "I know I just suggested it but I don't like the idea of splitting up anymore than you do. I believe it will be the safest way though. We have three of these Rainbow Crystals on board the ship. We break up into three groups and gradually make our way to a specified meeting place, preferably somewhere known to be safe." Luna looked at Reika, "Perhaps Andrew could suggest somewhere?"

Reika nodded.

Lita leaned forward. "Right then, three groups. Luna, you'll take Rhett Butler along with Hotaru. Artemis, you'll be with Reika and Chad. Greg will come with me and Jed. And I want everyone to be armed." Before Reika could object, Lita added, "Yes Reika that includes you. I know you don't believe in violence and so on, but we are all in danger here. Especially you. You will need to be able to defend yourself. Okay?"

The others all murmured their agreements. Jed looked over at their pilot. "Artie, how long until we land?" he asked.

Artemis glanced at his watch and did the calculations. "Two hours," he replied.

Lita decided to wrap the meeting up. They had things to prepare, plus Reika would need time to get in contact with her fiancé. "So we all know the groups. Hotaru, Luna, once we reach Alintarouge you two go shopping. At least, you'll be in a crowded area. Chad, Artie and Reika, you guys go collect any supplies we need, and the rest of us will go collect our pay for the cargo. We'll make it look like we're just going about our everyday business, as if we didn't know there were agents waiting to attack. And hopefully with a bit of luck, we'll all be able to make it to the meeting place with no trouble."

Lita stood up and smiled. "Now let's get back to work."

* * *

Zachary glanced down at the woman in his arms as he climbed the steps of the Hikawa Shrine. She had gradually started to come around the further away they travelled from the city centre. Rei had managed to rouse herself as they reached the actual shrine, long enough to tell him to take her to the room containing the Great Fire. She had also tried to insist that she was capable of walking up all the steps by herself, but two steps later and Zachary had had to grab her before she collapsed again.

He reached the top of the stairs and looked across the cleared area to the temple. Zachary could see an elderly man with a broom sweeping around the entrance to the temple itself. From the robes he was wearing, Zachary assumed the man was the priest of the temple. The man looked up without Zachary needing to call out anything. He dropped his broom in shock when he saw Rei lying lifelessly in Zachary's arms, and instantly hurried across the distance between them.

"Rei," the priest said as he reached Zachary.

Rei's eyes fluttered open. "Hi Grandpa," she murmured before closing her eyes again.

The priest frowned. "Follow me," he stated to Zachary. "We need to get her inside."

Zachary followed the man inside, and then through a winding maze towards the centre of the temple. Zachary could feel the heat coming from the room in front of them before he had even stepped inside it. The priest indicated that he should follow him inside. Zachary stepped through and was confronted with the sight of a large fire burning furiously in the middle of the room.

While Zachary stared at the fire, the priest was busy arranging a mat on the floor. He straightened and then commanded, "Lay Rei down here." Zachary, following instructions, carefully placed Rei on the floor before the fire. He found it odd though. Surely she would be more comfortable in her own room, where there was likely a soft bed for her to rest in.

Her grandfather obviously saw the question written on Zachary's face, for once Zachary stepped back from Rei's body, he said, "The Great Fire will help Rei to heal quicker from the psychic blows she has suffered." He smiled down at his granddaughter. He could see that already she was breathing easier.

The priest turned to the stranger who had brought his granddaughter home. "Thank you," he said and bowed low to the blond man.

Zachary blinked, feeling uncomfortable with the gratitude. "Sorry?" he spluttered.

"Not many people would have cared enough about an unknown girl in trouble to help her and bring her home. So thank you, young man."

Zachary held out his hand to Rei's grandfather. "My name's Zachary Dickenson," he introduced himself. "I'm just glad I was there and was able to help."

The priest smiled kindly at him. "I am Jiji Hino. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." The two men shook hands before Jiji Hino indicated the door. "May I offer you some refreshments? Perhaps, you can provide me with the details of what happened over a cup of tea?"

Zachary nodded, though he was wondering just how much he should tell the spiritual man before him. They were just about to leave the room when they both felt the shift in the air, as Rei's body suddenly jerked on the floor. They looked back to her just in time to see her eyes slowly open.

Zachary's eyes widened in shock as he got a clear look at Rei's. They were glazed over in a mixture of reds, oranges and yellows, constantly flickering and shifting like the flames of the Great Fire next to her. Slowly she lifted herself to a kneeling position, gazing into the Great Fire.

Jiji and Zachary moved behind Rei and also dropped to their knees. Zachary glanced at the priest out of the corner of his eye. He had his head bent, and his hands together, appearing to be praying. Rei's grandfather didn't seem to be worried about the colour of his granddaughter's eyes, or the trance she seemed to be in. But perhaps he had seen this all before, perhaps it was a regular occurrence, and there was nothing to be worried about.

Mr. Hino only looked up once Rei began to speak. She said only three words, "They're coming here."

Rei turned to face the two men, blinked her eyes, and suddenly she had returned to herself. Feeling exhausted Rei lay back down on the mat, watching the men still kneeling in front of her.

"Who is coming here Rei?" Mr. Hino asked quietly.

"Everyone," she replied. Her answer was still cryptic, but Rei didn't know how to explain it any better, especially as almost all of the people she had seen in the Great Fire were strangers to her. One though had been familiar. Rei smiled softly as she stared into her grandfather's eyes. "Darien's coming home."

Zachary wasn't sure, but he almost thought that the twinge he felt on hearing those words and seeing Rei's pleasure about them might have been jealousy. But, he rationalised to himself, it probably wasn't. He was probably just hungry.

* * *

Darien could feel the heat of Mina's glare burning into the back of him. Actually, most of the people currently standing in the cargo hold were glaring at him. Ami wasn't, but she was still staring at him in confusion. Serena wasn't either, but then it was because Darien was holding her hand while she rested her head against his shoulder that everyone was watching them so intently. Darien glanced at the young woman beside him as she suddenly sat up straight and released her grip on his hand.

Serena slipped to the floor and began drawing with the marker that had suddenly materialised in her hand. Darien could feel the tension ease somewhat now that Serena had moved away from him, but it wasn't gone completely. He chanced a look at Mina and though her glare was now gone, Darien could still feel the tension simmering underneath the surface of Mina's face. He averted his gaze before he could completely raise her ire again and looked down at what Serena was sketching on the floor. Darien frowned but wasn't given the chance to comment on it.

They all felt the jolt go through their bodies as Neph, up in the cockpit, brought the Ice Chamber to a stop. They had landed. They were in Alintarouge.

Kunzite and Mina were both visibly relieved. Darien didn't blame them. The captain and his girlfriend thought they were getting rid of him for good. Neph's voice came over the sound system, "That's it folks, we're world-side. Welcome to Alintarouge."

Kunzite smirked as he walked over to the wall, preparing to open the ramp. "Well, guess that's the end of the line for you Hino," he said.

Serena looked up from the large drawing she had just finished. "We need to go here," she stated, pointing down at the drawing.

Ami was shaking her head. "Serena, we're only staying here long enough for Darien to disembark, and for the ship to be refuelled. Then we're leaving."

Kunzite was ignoring the girls behind him. He slammed his hand against the button to lower the ramp, but seeing what he was doing Serena waved her hand, and nothing happened. "What in the 'verse?" Kunzite muttered as he tried again to lower the ramp.

Darien and Mina were both staring at Serena as she used her power to keep them all trapped in the cargo hold. Serena smiled slightly as she felt Neph finally arrive in the hold to see what was going. She looked to Mina and again pointed to her drawing. "We need to go _here_," Serena repeated.

Mina finally looked at Serena's drawing and frowned slightly. "You drew that the other day as well," she said. "What is it?"

"It's Hikawa Shrine." Everyone looked to Darien as he answered Mina's question. He took a deep breath and then added, "It's my home."

That really decided it for Mina. She wasn't taking Serena anywhere near Hino's home. Mina crossed her arms stubbornly as Serena continued to stare at her, an annoyed expression beginning to cross her younger cousin's face.

"We need to go here," Serena said for a third time, "all of us. Captain, Pilot, Mina, Shingo, Ami, Tuxedo Mask, Serena. All of us at Hikawa Shrine." She pointed to her head. "It told me so," Serena added, almost plaintively.

Everyone looked surprised to see Serena referring to her own powers. Darien had only ever seen her do it once before, after she fought those coppers on Station 5 and then called herself Sailor Moon. As he saw the shock on everyone else's faces, Darien realised that no one had actually heard Serena herself mention her powers. They all knew they existed, they all talked about it between them, and they had all seen the proof of Serena's powers. But they had never bothered to get Serena to actually discuss her abilities with them.

The first to react was Shingo. The young teenager dropped to his knees next to his older sister, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Serena turned to look at him. "Okay," Shingo told her calmly. "We'll go to the shrine, okay?"

"Shingo!" Mina exclaimed sharply.

Shingo turned to his cousin, still keeping his hand on Serena's shoulder. Mina sucked in a breath in shock at the sight of Shingo's eyes. She hadn't seen them look so filled with sadness since the day she had found him, dirty and scared and hungry and hardened, in the streets of Canberranoire. "Mina, we have to go," Shingo replied, still using that same calm voice. "You said yourself that you've seen Serena draw this place before. And for it to turn out to be where Darien lives? This is obviously important." Shingo paused for a moment, glancing at Serena from the corner of his eye, before finishing quietly, "Serena wouldn't keep insisting like this if it wasn't."

Mina swallowed, trying to keep down the emotions she had spent so long burying deep inside her. She blinked away the tears she could feel building at the backs of her eyes, and cleared her throat. "Okay," Mina softly agreed, before immediately turning away from the group. She didn't want anyone to see the fear she was certain was pouring from her eyes.

Serena shifted to her feet and with another wave of her hand the ramp finally began to lower. With a heavy thump, the ramp hit the ground and the crew of the Ice Chamber walked out into Alintarouge. Serena slipped her hand back into Darien's as they descended the ramp.

Once they were all assembled on the ground, Kunzite moved to a spot beside the ship and pushed something – obviously the outside release button, as the ramp began to fold back up and close the entrance to the ship once more. Darien pulled up the hood of his jacket and slipped on a pair of sunglasses. He was now back on his home-world, in his home-city. He had more chance of being recognised by the authorities here than anywhere else.

He was already trying to figure out just how they were all going to get through customs without immediately being caught.


End file.
